


Marble House (discontinued)

by reeria



Category: Larry Stylinson - Fandom, One Direction, One Direction - Band
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Jealousy, M/M, Rich Harry, Rich Liam, Summer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-17
Updated: 2013-10-12
Packaged: 2017-12-15 06:44:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 24,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/846516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reeria/pseuds/reeria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis and his best friend, Zayn, need to earn some money and when the perfect opportunity presents itself Louis snaps it up without hesitation. Serving Harry Styles and Liam Payne, two very wealthy young men, shouldn't be that difficult, right? They get to hang out at Styles Manor all summer so it should be easy-peasy... right? Of course, Harry and Liam have different ideas. Niall cooks and watches from afar. Summer is here and it's going to be memorable.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Keeping it Surreal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hello! this is my first ever ff so please take it with a pinch of salt and if there are mistakes or inconsistencies etc just ignore them hahahaha
> 
> and i've kinda ended up writing this from a mixture of louis and zayn POV's but it will probably end up being primarily focused on harry's and lou's relationship :))
> 
> [the manor (mainly the entrance hall) is based off of this ](http://www.finalarchitecture.com/2010/04/23/luxury-mansion-architecture-with-elegant-exterior-and-interior-design/)

Louis liked to think he was a spontaneous guy. Spontaneous in the fun way, not in the cover-yourself-in-vasaline-and-set-fire-to-your-car way. Sometimes an idea would just come to him and he usually decided to just run with it, dragging Zayn along. Zayn loved Louis for who he was but sometimes dealing with this spontaneous side of his was like a kick in the balls, unexpected, unavoidable and unpleasant.

So Zayn sighed loudly for the hundredth time and Louis rolled his eyes for the millionth. How did Zayn even have enough air in his lungs to sigh that much? How had Louis’s eyes not rolled out of his skull by now, slipped under his shoes and ended up crushed beneath the pedals, like that awful scene in that awful human centipede film he had made Zayn watch, hoping to make him cry, but in turn only disturbing himself. Twisting his head to scowl at his best friend for being such a bloody drama queen before losing his train of thought and asking the road ahead, how is it fair that someone who is so annoyed and so annoying, be so annoyingly handsome.

“You sound like a steam train.” Louis sighed three times to prove his point.

“Hey Lou, do you remember when I told you to shut up a minute ago?” Rolling down the car window, his friend stuck his head out and lost himself in the wind. Louis had half a mind to join him because it looked like fun, but he was driving and it would be incredibly dangerous to do so, even for him.

“I do sadly, but look, Zayn, I get you aren’t happy with the plan but I really didn't think you would be so against it mate.” Zayn pulled his head back into the car and gave Louis a pout. “We really need the money if we actually want to move out and live together any time soon like real adults, and someone told me about this job offer and how they were looking for two young applicants, and it just seemed perfect.” They really did need the money and Louis was not prepared to start stripping live on dodgy porn sites for cash, like Zayn has so helpfully suggested. Not matter how unbelievable he would look in lingerie; it was just not going to happen. Not until they got very, very desperate.

Zayn was still annoyed. Typical. “Did you even read the job description?”

“Yeah, of course! Well, kind of. Alright, to be honest, I saw the part about how we get to hang out at Styles Manor all summer and just decided to sign us up.” Zayn sighed again and Louis couldn’t help but giggle this time because deep down he knew his friend loved him.“Dude, they have a pool!”

“Dude. I can’t swim.” Zayn covered his eyes with his hands, as if trying to forget his current situation, and Louis actually felt guilty for a moment, for a second, but then they were pulling up to the gates leading to the manor and Louis was filled to the brim with excitement all over again, like a sugar rush taking over his body.

“Holy shit this place is so posh.” He wiggled around in his seat, taking in as much of the front garden and manor as possible, eyes wide, before spotting an older woman waiting by the door for them. Her brown hair, cut into a bop, blew gently in the breeze as she waved at them with a friendly and welcoming smile. Louis pulled up to the front of the manor and practically fell out of the car. Looking up, he admired how proudly the manor stood and how the sun beamed down and rested upon the bricks, making it glow.

“Hello, hi! Good afternoon you two and welcome to Styles Manor.” Zayn pulled himself out of the car and followed Louis over to the woman, who wore her black dress and black pumps like a uniform. “It’s lovely to meet you both, my name is Jessica and I'm the housekeeper here at the Manor. Now." She pointed at Louis, the ruby nail varnish she wore was slightly chipped at the edges. “Let me guess, you are Mr Tomlinson?” Louis nodded, grinning, and took a bow much to Jessica's delight. “And that means you are Mr Malik?” She pointed to Zayn who nodded once in response. “Wonderful! The two new servants have arrived. Follow me!” She turned away and started towards the entrance to the manor. Zayn clutched onto Louis’s arm before he could move and pulled him in close, whispering into his ear.

“Servants. You heard her, right? We’re servants." Louis shrugged him off and followed after Jessica, but spoke over his shoulder.

“As long as the uniforms look good, I don't care what they call us.” Louis found the exterior impressive but once inside he had to actually refrain himself from getting down and kissing the polished to perfection marble floor. That was something he would never ever, ever, think about doing, but this place was incredible. It was like a fairytale home or something you saw on MTV Cribs. Even Zayn was impressed. He breathed in the vanilla scented air and admired the very expensive looking chandelier hanging over a huge Persian rug, and thought to himself that maybe this job wouldn't be too bad. Maybe he could have some fun here.

“It’s magnificent, right?” Jessica’s voice pulled them both back to reality and they turned to find she has moved to the other side of the entrance hall, now standing at the bottom of one of the sweeping staircases (there were two) with a proud smile on her face. “If you think this is impressive, wait until you see the rest of it. And wait until you see the car collection.” She signaled for them to follow her up the stairs but before Zayn could take a step forward Louis had pounced onto him and was messing up his hair in excitement.

“This place is sick. It looks like the playboy mansion or something.” He whispered, making Zayn chuckle.

“Maybe our uniforms include bunny-ears.” Louis believed he would look better in cat-ears but still made an exaggerated excited face before flicking his fringe and darting towards the stairs, eager to catch up with Jessica and gawk over the rest of the manor. Zayn was about to follow too, but heard footsteps behind him. He turned to catch a boy about the same age as himself with blonde hair and a contagious smile walking past holding a bottle of wine in one hand. The boy caught Zayn’s stare, winked and saluted and continued on his way, walking out through a side door. 

Once all three of them reached the top of the stairs Jessica eyed each boy up and down and before Louis could ask if she liked what she saw, she pointed at them both accusingly.

“You know, you two are very cute. That might be a problem.” Louis cocked his head to the side in a questioning manner, of course he knew he was cute but how could it possibly ever be a problem? He turned to Zayn, who was looking just as bewildered. “It’s just…” Jessica bit her painted bottom lip before shaking her head and dragging her fingers through her hair. “Never mind me, I’m thinking silly things, it’s what happens when you get older.” She turned away and walked down one side of the hallway and as Zayn walked beside Louis he patted his cheekbones and thought out loud.

“Am I too handsome for this job or something?" Louis scoffed, gently nudged him in the hip with his elbow, wearing a flawless poker face and answered 'Never', which resulted in a crappy karate fight.

“You act like them too.” Jessica stated, watching as Louis won, her hand on the doorknob to a large wooden door, it had the name “Harry” lightly carved into it. Louis raised his eyebrows but Jessica didn't explain what the hell she was talking about, maybe she was a little crazy. “Anyway, right. As you are well aware, you two will be working here the whole summer. The reason for this is because two young men come and stay here for the three months, so we need the extra help around the place.” She paused and opened the door, leading Louis and Zayn into a large and stylish, black and white themed bedroom, which contained a king-sized canopy bed, covered in pillows, and a built in flat-screen TV. Louis tried hard not to gasp. “This bedroom belongs to Harry Styles, the son of Edward Styles, who is the owner of this manor. Now, Edward is currently away in Japan for business, but Harry will be arriving later on today, along with his friend.” She pointed at Louis. “You will be responsible for Mr Styles. Keep his room and clothes clean, bring him his food and fetch him anything he requests.” Louis nodded, feeling confident he could handle pretty much anything, especially when considering how much he was being paid. “Watch out though, he can be a right little shit.” She winked and strolled out of the room, past the two stunned boys and back into the hallway, where she then lead them to the next room down, a second bedroom.

The room wasn’t too different from Harry’s, except there was more wooden furniture and instead of a flat screen TV there was a built in fireplace. “Now this is where Liam Payne stays, he is a close friend of Harry’s and his family is equally as rich and well respected as Style’s. The same thing applies to you with Liam, just keep him happy and everything will be fine.” She pointed towards Zayn, before checking her watch. “Shit. I forgot the time, they will be arriving soon.” The panic in Jessica’s voice made Louis and Zayn even more nervous to actually meet the two people they would be working for. “I have to make sure everything is perfect for when they arrive, so do you think you two could find the guesthouse yourselves? It’s where you will stay while you are here.”

“Yeah sure, we can do that, but our suitcases are in the boot of my car still.” Louis explained and Zayn had almost forgotten completely that they would actually be staying in the manor, actually sleeping over each night and waking up in foreign beds each morning. What the hell had Louis been thinking?

“Yes, of course! You can drive your car around the back to the guesthouse, and then sort yourselves out from there.” Jessica gave them brief directions and explained to them that their uniforms would be stored away in the wardrobe in their shared room. She then dashed off, out of sight, leaving Louis and Zayn standing in Liam’s bedroom. They stood in silence for about half a minute, just observing the place. Louis pointed to a framed picture of Justin Timberlake in a wet shirt carefully positioned on one of the bed stands and soon the room was filled with their laughter.

“So, hey, this should be fun.” Louis said with a smirk.

Zayn walked over to a hanging mirror and fiddled with his quiff. “Are you nervous to meet them? I’m fucking terrified.” Louis shrugged; he was good at coming across as fearless and confident and this wasn't his first ever job. Not long ago he was handing out tickets at his local cinema and before that he was stacking toys on shelves at Toys R Us. Through these jobs he met many new people, he would deal with strangers daily and even in places as innocent as a children's toy store, weird shit still went down. He was used to being out of his comfort zone, not that he really had one. This was just another job. 

“I just hope they are hot. If they are hot this could be the best summer ever.” Louis’s eyes glazed over and Zayn could tell he was already dreaming about blowjobs by the pool or passionate make out sessions in the tennis courts, as if this were a damn fan fiction or something.

“Come on, before you give yourself a boner, you pervert.” Zayn grabbed Louis and pulled him out of the room, gently shutting the door behind them. They walked back to the car in silence, both too busy lost in thought and as they drove around the back of the manor to the guesthouse, they missed the classic white Ford Capri pulling up into the driveway.


	2. Whatever You Like

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~ Louis POV ~

While hauling out the third suitcase from the back seat, Louis was willing to admit that maybe he did over pack, just a little. Despite the fact they were going to be in uniforms he wanted to bring some extra clothing, just in case. And, well, there’s a pool, so he needed his swimming shorts and he couldn’t forget the tennis court, which meant he needed his sports wear. He was just thinking ahead, no big deal, except Zayn thought it was the funniest thing in the world.

“How much shit did you bring? Are you serious?” He watched as Louis dropped the suitcase onto his right foot and proceeded to jump around and perform a little dance of pain. He seriously has to stop being this clumsy if he’s going to 'look after' Harry Styles.

“I’m just being a responsible adult Zaynie.” He said when he could feel his foot again.

“Don’t make me laugh.” Zayn said, while laughing. Louis stuck out his tongue, and managed to carry the suitcase, without any further injuries, over to the guesthouse door, where Zayn was waiting with his single suitcase and large overnight bag.

“Is it open?” Louis asked, nodding at the door and Zayn found that it was already unlocked. The guesthouse was pretty much just an extension of the manor, the rooms weren’t as posh or as big but it was still very stylish and well designed. They walked through a small hallway past the doors that led to the bedroom and bathroom, into the room at the very end, which ended up being the kitchen and the living room combined. Louis dropped the suitcase down and collapsed across the sofa and sighed.

“I’m going to take a quick shower.” Zayn said from somewhere in the room and disappeared into the hallway with his bag. Louis fiddled with the striped top he was wearing and listened to the sound of the shower coming alive in the other room, and Zayn, who was now singing something by Frank Ocean or Drake. This is all a bit much, he thought to himself. Now that they were actually here and had seen some of the place, it was so much more than just an idea, it was actually happening. They were stuck here now for three months. They were going to meet two young and very, very wealthy boys and they were going to cater to their every need. He reached out his hand and rested his palm onto one of the velvet cushions perched next to him. Yep, it was real. This whole place was real. He was really doing this. He should probably start unpacking.

An hour later and Louis is practically inside one of his suitcases, while his clothes are scattered around the bedroom. There are two single beds and two wardrobes and Zayn had walked out of the shower completely naked, and claimed the bed closest to the window by laying onto it and rolling around, making the sheets damp.

“Zayn I found our uniforms and we are going to look like such emos.” Louis held up one of the black collared shirts to his chest to show Zayn, while pouting his lips. He was secretly pleased, because he was well aware of how good he looked in black, he just hoped they wouldn't get too hot while they were working.

“I dunno man, I actually really like them, they are kinda dark and mysterious like a ninja or something.” Zayn was now reaching across and actually putting on one of the shirts, carefully doing up each button and patting the material down. “What do you think?” Louis looked up and nodded in appreciation. He did look good, but then Zayn always looked good, that’s why Louis used to have a slight thing for him. To be fair it’s hard not too really. Zayn, always so cool with his leather jackets and perfectly styled hair, every girl and every boy wanted him.

“Yeah, totally dark and mysterious, but you might want to put some trousers on.” Louis looked directly at Zayn’s dick and squinted, just to be a tease.

“Nah, I thought I could just work like this.” Zayn winked with a grin, but pulled on some boxers. “We just wear black skinnies right?” Louis made a noise of agreement, re-reading what the note left for them on the dresser said and decided to get changed too, leaving the rest of the unpacking for another time, or maybe he would just leave everything as it is which he would probably end up doing anyway.

They both got ready; Zayn hogged the bedroom mirror and Louis had to actually shove him out of the way so he could do something with his hair too. They ended up play fighting and after a few crappy karate moves Zayn disappeared into the bathroom to use the mirror there. Wearing the uniform gave him a new kind of confidence, like he was meant to be here and he was actually eager to meet Harry and Liam now, just to show them that even simple servants can look good.

They exited the guesthouse and walked back into the manor, this time through the backdoor, following the directions on the note. Finding themselves in the entrance hall again, in between the two sweeping staircases, Zayn shut the door behind them and the blonde boy he saw earlier came into the hall and grinned.

“Hey lads!” He was obviously Irish and Louis had to stop himself from imitating his accent incase he came across as rude. He didn’t want to piss anyone off on the first day. “My name is Niall, I’m the assistant chief. Nice to meet you.” Niall had some form of food in his hair but Louis quite liked the look of it so decided against telling him.

“I’m Louis.” He stuck out his arm so they could shake hands like real adults.

“Hi, I’m Zayn” Louis watched as they also shook hands and Zayn saluted for some reason, making Niall’s grin even wider. Alrighty then.

“I was on my way to come and get you two, Harry and Liam have just finished eating and they want to meet you before you officially start working tomorrow.” Niall took a step closer and spoke softly to the boys. “Oh, and they’ve had a bit to drink and ‘cause Harry can’t handle his alcohol he’s a little tipsy. Should be alright though.”

“What are they like?” Louis asked before he could stop himself, he hated how vulnerable he sounded, but he was actually feeling pretty nervous again.

“Idiots. Charming, but complete losers. Don’t let them trick you into thinking they are cool, alright?” Niall led them through a side door and down a corridor and Louis was reminded of the size of the manor, it was like a maze. Zayn was being very quiet beside him so he reached out and held onto his shoulder to comfort him.

“Okay, just go in here.” Niall pointed at one of the doors, they could hear a deep voice singing Lionel Richie’s “All Night long” at the top of their lungs inside and Niall gave them the thumbs up as they pushed the door open, before disappearing down the corridor. Louis walked in first, with forced confidence. He saw someone’s back, as they were leaning over a foosball table and he saw a curly haired boy with a wide smile standing on a sofa, wiggling his hips as he continued to sing. Zayn was close beside him and Louis remembered how he was the one responsible for Zayn being here, so decided to take the lead, clearing his throat.

“Excuse me?”

“Excuse youuuuuuuu!” The curly haired boy sang, still dancing, but as his eyes fell on Louis he stopped and dropped his hands beside his waist. The boy leaning over the foosball table was now walking towards them and Louis admired his kind brown eyes and poised stride. He was very good looking, not his type, but he was tall and obviously worked out.

“Howdy.” He waved at Zayn and then at Louis and turned back to the boy behind him and Louis did not fail to notice his raised eyebrows. The curly haired boy jumped off the sofa and skipped over to them and Louis bit his bottom lip because this boy was incredibly cute, and he had large hands and dimples and long legs and tattoos on his arms and intense green eyes. Despite this Louis still found himself questioning, were these two actually this rich? They kind of dressed like hobos, not that it wasn’t working for them.

“You two are the new servants, right?” His voice slow and deep, and a little slurred, felt like silk on his skin.

“Yes, that's us. It’s nice to meet you, my name is Louis Tomlinson and this is Zayn Malik.” He noticed the brown eyed boy peering past him at Zayn.

“Lewis?” The curly haired boy leant in as he spoke.

“No, not quite. There's no s on the end, it's just Louis.”

“Louis.” He repeated and Louis nodded, gripping onto himself as his name rolled off the boys tongue like melted chocolate.

“Well Louis and Zayn, I'm Harry and this here is my best bud, Liam.

All four of them shook hands and it was all very formal until Harry draped his arm over Liam’s shoulders, leaning into his side, forcing Louis to hold himself back from staring when the plain white top he wore lifted to slightly reveal his mid section. 

“Sorry, but we are pretty new to all this…” This was him trying to be as polite as possible and he was also trying, and failing, to ignore how intensely Harry watched his lips when he spoke. “Do we call you guys by your names or your second names, or like…?”

“Oh, yeah. Normally we would just get you to call us by our first names because that's what we're used to.” Liam answered instantly with a smile.

“But that’s boring.” Harry grinned. “I think you two should address us with…” Liam whispered something behind his hand into Harry’s ear, not a good sign, and Harry started to slowly nod. “I like the way you think Liam. Alright, we've decided you two should address us with sir.” Accidently, Zayn let out a small groan and Liam lifted his index finger into the air infront of his face.

“Hey now, no attitude from you. You gotta do what we say, okay?” He nodded. “No, say it.” Liam still had his index finger in the air but it had moved to point at Zayn.

“Okay."

“Okay, what?”

There was a moment of intense silence before Zayn gave in.

“Okay, sir.”

Liam closed his eyes and breathed in, basking in the moment. Also looking weirdly satisfied was Harry, but then his eyes fell on Louis and he twisted his face into a scowl.

“Hey, I want you to say it too.” The word 'hey' had been dragged out for a stupid length of time considering the person who had said it.

“Say what?”

“Oh, fuck off, you know exactly what. Say it.”

Careful consideration before Louis let slip a smirk. “Fuck off... sir?” Harry pushed himself off of Liam and walked directly in front of Louis. He was taller than him and when he was this close Louis almost felt like dropping to his knees and begging for forgiveness or maybe doing something else also requiring his mouth, he wouldn’t mind either way.

“You cheeky fucker.” This kid and his damn mouth was just too much. The word ‘cheeky’ had slurred so it sounded more like ‘cheesy’. He looked angry but sounded slightly amused. Before Louis could even think of a comeback Harry leant forward and placed his lips close to his ear and wow, he had no idea what was happening. He knew Harry was a little bit tipsy from the alcohol, that was obvious, and yes, he might act somewhat odd because of this, but had he not heard of a little and rather imporant thing called personal space? “You’ll pay for that.” He whispered, slow and deliberate. Louis moved his head away from Harry’s lips and nodded mockingly as Harry took a step back, stumbling slightly, like a newborn fawn.

“I'm pretty much broke at the moment but yes okay. If there is nothing else you two need, I think we’ll be heading off to bed now”

“It’s only just seven o’clock.” Liam said, looking at his rolex. Crap, really? Wow that was early. 

“Yes you're right, but I think it’s best we get an early night so we are well rested for work tomorrow. Sir.” Louis was proud of himself, he was being so responsible and practical and was definitely not a teeny tiny bit intimidated by Harry and Liam and therefore wanted to run away. Harry scoffed and waved them out.

“Fine. Whatever.” Like he often did Louis took the chance and ran with it, only this time literally, grabbing hold of Zayn who was currently in the middle of a staring contest with the floor and pulling him out of the room and down the hallway. He carried on pulling him out of the manor and to the guesthouse; despite the fact that Zayn was perfectly able to walk himself there. Once they were finally inside and the door was shut Louis grabbed onto Zayns shoulders and stared into his eyes. He looked quite a bit disorientated so he waited until his friends breath steadied.

“Fuck, Zayn.” One slow nod. “No really, fuck.” He simply stared ahead as Louis dragged a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to say.”

Zayn sighed. “Well, they seem like dicks to me.” Louis made a noise of agreement. They did seem like dicks but Louis had something else on his mind, as usual.

“Yeah true, but do you think they have a sex dungeon somewhere in the manor?”


	3. Mind is a Razor Blade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~ Louis POV cont. ~

Louis decided that 6:15 am is really not the best time to hear Barbie Girl by Aqua, but his alarm obviously thought differently. Zayn rolled over in his bed with a long groan and began to pretend cry, or maybe he was actually crying. “Morning gorgeous, fed up already?” Louis sat up and rubbed his face.

“Don’t make me do this.”

“Come on, up you get lazy bones.” Louis hopped out of bed and shuffled over to Zayn who was staring up at the ceiling with sleepy tears in his eyes. He gently patted his cheeks and flicked his nose. Zayn made no response so Louis jumped onto him.

“Argh! Get off!” Zayn sat up as Louis rolled off with a giggle and began walking towards the door and out to the kitchen. There were birds singing outside and the sun was already up and as the kettle filled the room with sound and steam, Louis stood by the window and admired the view. The garden was filled with vibrant green plants and pink and blue flowers, a water fountain stood proudly and Louis promised himself he would push Zayn into it at least once while they were here. As if he could read his thoughts Zayn entered the room, scowling, and the two boys ate breakfast quickly whilst going over the instructions left for them.

“So we just go straight to the kitchen and then take the food up to them?”

“Yeah, the food is already prepared, we just bring them it.” Zayn confirmed and looked up at the clock above the table. “It’s 6:25 now, we should get dressed and get there by quarter too… then we take the food up at 7” Louis nodded, sat back in his chair and stretched his entire body, his back clicked.

“Who chooses to eat breakfast so damn early anyway? They have the option of sleeping in and yet they get up at seven, what weirdos.” Zayn couldn't agree more but instead he shrugged and began to clear their plates and cups away, while Louis idly watched. Ten minutes later they were both dressed and sorting out their hair. Now that they had met Harry and Liam they both wanted to look their best, although they wouldn't admit it. Sure, they were douchebags but what did they expect from two super rich kids who had everything done for them? Louis fiddled with his fringe one last time before dragging himself and Zayn out of the guesthouse and towards the main house. They successfully found the kitchen without getting lost, much to their surprise, and once again Louis took the lead and warily entered the room. It was ten minutes to seven, they were on time, yet he was still slightly nervous. Thankfully the first person he saw was Niall, who strode over with a smile too big for how early it was.

“Morning Louis, morning Zayn” He picked up a tray which held a traditional English breakfast, a cup of tea, a banana and some grapes, and handed it to Louis. “This is for Harry, and this-“ He picked up a second tray, which held pretty much the exact same thing except there were milk and cookies instead of a cup of tea. “This is for Liam. Come back here once you’ve taken them up and I can introduce you to the cook and show you around the kitchen.” Louis looked over Niall’s shoulder and observed the kitchen behind him and noticed an older woman busily preparing more food.

“Okay, cheers Niall.” Zayn headed towards the door and used his back to push it open, to prevent disturbing the breakfast he held. Louis followed and took extra care with each step towards Harry’s room, imagining he was on a tightrope. “Good luck.” Zayn whispered as he continued towards Liam’s door. Louis held his breathe as he pushed Harry’s door open and entered the room, which would have been pitch black if it wasn’t for the small amount of light that peaked through a gap in the curtain. Remembering the instructions, Louis placed the tray onto the bedside table and was about to tiptoe over to the curtains when his eyes fell on the sleeping body that was spread out on the king-sized bed. His mouth was open slightly and his hair was a complete mess but he looked so peaceful and calm that Louis felt incredibly guilty that he was about to ruin it all with a little thing called natural light. Harry mumbled something in his sleep and Louis realized he was watching him like a creep, so he turned away and tiptoed over to the velvet curtains and pulled them open, which was easier said that done, those things were heavy. As light flooded the room Harry groaned and threw the covers over his head.

“Good morning, sir.” Louis said in his sweetest voice with a carefully placed smile on his face. The reply was a grunt and Louis watched in awe as the lump under the duvet moved about, wriggling around, and had to stop himself from tugging the covers away completely just to see how he would react. “Here is your breakfast.” He picked up the tray and the idea of food must have been appealing because Harry poked his head out from under the duvet and blinked his eyes open.

“Lewis.” With knitted brows Louis shook his head.

“No, it’s Louis. And this is your breakfast.” He pushed the tray out and waited for Harry to position himself against the headboard before placing it onto his lap.

“Louis.” Harry repeated with a grin, and Louis gave him the thumbs up.

“Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?” Harry glanced at the food and then back at Louis.

“No, I don’t think so…”

“Okay, enjoy your breakfast sir.” And with that Louis started towards the door, already congratulating himself on the successful job when he suddenly heard what sounded like liquid being poured onto the carpeted floor and a quiet 'Oops'. A quick 180 degree turn confirmed this and Louis watched in confusion as Harry slowly poured the remaining tea onto the floor beside his bed, staring at Louis, daring him to react. “What-“ Louis darted over to the bedside and took the cup from Harry’s grasp. “What the hell are you doing?” Harry shrugged and picked the banana up from the tray, and began to peel it.

“I had an accident.” He was obviously teasing Louis on purpose but he wasn't about to give in and get angry, he had to remain calm and act indifferent. He had to be the bigger man. He had to remain cool.

“Okay. That’s okay. Would you like me to get you another tea, sir?” He didn't know what to do about the tea soaked carpet but he would ask Niall about that once he was back downstairs. Harry was now shoving the banana down his throat and staring up at Louis, his green eyes slowly blinked. Louis had never really wanted to be a banana before. He had wanted to be an apple once, when pictures of David Beckham eating one were published in a magazine a while back, but a banana was new terrority. Harry made him want to be one, he made him want to be one so badly it was starting to hurt. Louis held his breathe and watched in admiration, mouth slack, as the boy pulled the banana back out from his throat and began to eat it as if what he had just done was completely normal.

“Yes.” He said, mouth full. Louis nodded and darted towards the door, carefully shutting it behind him before leaning back on it, giving himself a moment to pull himself together. What the hell was Harry doing? Why did he just deep throat a banana? And how was Louis so turned on right now? Just as he was repositioning his jeans Zayn came out of the next room with an equally as confused and startled face.

“He was completely naked.” Were his first words once the door was shut behind him.

“Oh my.” Louis raised his eyebrows and tried not to think of Liam naked because that really wasn’t going to help with the current state he was in.

“And he offered me a cookie.” Zayn held up the cookie with his right hand to prove this, and then began to eat it.

“Well, Harry just showed me his blowjob skills.” Louis stated, causing him to choke on said cookie.

“I’m sorry, what?” Zayn's eyes wide. “Wow, you two really hit if off, huh?” Louis chuckled and began heading down the corridor, Zayn close behind.

“No Zayn, not like that unfortunately, he just deep throated a banana.” Zayn stopped coughing and shook his head.

“Oh, Right. Fair enough.” The two boys headed back to the kitchen and Louis explained the situation with the tea to Niall, who rolled his eyes and nodded, placing a teabag into a clean cup and clicking on the kettle.

“Sorry Niall, I don’t know why he did that, I was being polite and everything.” Louis shrugged and Zayn sat down on a spare stool by one of the counters, head in his hands, mind some place else.

“Nah, it’s okay mate, I’m not too surprised, he probably did it to piss you off.” The blonde haired boy beckoned Louis to join him. “Here, let me teach you how he likes his tea so you know for future references.” Louis studied the amount of milk Harry likes and how much sugar he takes, recording the information in his mind, feeling like he could do with a cup of tea himself.

“But why would he want to piss me off?” Louis asked and Niall looked at him and thought for a moment.

“Just for fun, probably.”

“Great.” Niall grinned at his sarcasm and handed him the fresh cup of tea.

“Here you go, careful not to spill it.” Louis scoffed and lightly slapped his arm, as he walked past Zayn and out of the kitchen he questioned how it was possible to feel so comfortable around Niall already despite only just meeting the guy. He entered Harry’s room and found that, thankfully no more spillages had taken place and Harry had remained in his bed, currently enjoying a slice of toast.

“Here is your tea sir, be careful not to spill it this time.” Louis echoed Niall’s words, placing the cup down on the bedside table, and was about to make a swift exit when Harry grabbed his wrist and tugged lightly.

“Wait. I need your assistance.” Louis nodded and watched as Harry slid out of bed, revealing that he was completely naked. Quicker than lightning Louis slammed his eyes shut and turned away, but he had still managed to catch a glimpse of his body and a certain part that was now stuck visually in his mind. It was big and Louis was in a bit of a mess. “It’s okay pal, you’ll probably end up seeing me naked quite a fair bit, so get used to it.” Harry laughed and walked over to the door that led to his walk in wardrobe. Louis slowly opened his eyes and watched him (mainly his bum) as he followed, but remained outside the door.

“What do you mean, sir?” Louis was pretty sure seeing Harry’s cock was not in the job description.

“Well, I need you to help me get dressed.”

“What? You can’t do that yourself?”

“Of course I can.”

“So why do you need me?”

Harry sighed like Louis was the biggest idiot in the world.

“Because it’s fun.”

“How-“ He was instantly interrupted by Harry reaching out of the wardrobe, grabbing onto Louis’ wrist and tugging him inside roughly. He let slip a yelp and nearly fell onto the curly menace- now wearing boxers, both a disappointment and relief to Louis. “Harry, hey, what-“

“Sir. You should be calling me sir.” Harry firmly stated. Louis rolled his eyes and huffed while stumbling back, observing the inside of the wardrobe. His eyes fell on a shelf that displayed a collection of fedoras and Louis had to physically stop himself from bursting into laughter, placing a hand over his mouth. “What’s so funny?” Harry asked, eyebrows knitted together. He looked up to see what Louis found so amusing. “Are you hating on my fedoras?”

“Of course not, sir, they are…” How could he put this politely? He thought for a second, unaware of Harry’s intense stare. “Bold? Flamboyant? Daring?” Harry looked unimpressed which only made Louis laugh more. “Oh, I’m only teasing, sir, I’m sure you look very handsome in them.” Harry nodded with a satisfied smirk; it was nice having Louis refer to him as handsome.

“I like to think I do. And they help contain some of my curls.” Harry shrugged and pulled at his hair.

“I like your curls, they should be set free.” Louis couldn't stop the words from spilling out of his mouth. He told himself Harry probably didn't care that he found Harry’s hair adorable. Harry probably thought Louis was hitting on him and was about to laugh at his attempts and was then going to make it clear that he only got with very pretty girls, and that Louis should stick to bringing him his tea in the morning. He slowly turned his attention away from the hats and over to Harry, to see how he was reacting to Louis’s comment. He was just staring back at Louis, a curious and slightly confused look on his face, and Louis could swear there was a slight smile forming. He cleared his throat, breaking the silence. “So, are you going to get dressed or what? Sir?” Harry blinked twice and nodded slowly. Louis was feeling uncomfortable under his gaze.

“Pass me a pair of black jeans.” Harry pointed to a shelf next to where Louis was standing, which was dedicated purely to black skinny jeans. Louis grabbed a random pair and inspected them before walking over to Harry and handing them over.

“Sir, are these women’s jeans?”

“Don't be silly.” Harry smiled.

“They sure look like women’s jeans…”

“They could be actually. Why? Is that a problem?” Harry pulled the jeans over his legs, holding eye contact with Louis.

“Nope.” Louis pursed his lips and rocked on his heels. Silence crept up on them and soon the two boys were staring at each other again, just waiting for the other one to speak first. Finally, Louis gave in. “So…”

“Pass me a shirt.” Harry pointed to a different shelf where a variety of shirts were hanging. “Any shirt; you choose.”

Louis picked out a white Rolling Stones shirt that looked well worn and thought for a kid with so much money he sure had a strange collection of clothes, he had expected Armani suits but his wardrobe was more like a thrift shop. Harry held his arms out and presented himself to Louis, obviously looking for feedback. Louis didn't mention how the shirt revealed his collarbones but instead informed Harry he looked very cool, managing to sound only a little bit sarcastic. “You did well for your first morning, Lewis.” Harry congratulated him with a pat on the head and strolled out of the wardrobe, Louis close behind.

“Thank you, sir, but it’s Louis-“

“But now you have another job! One that may get you very wet.” Harry guided them out of his room and into the corridor.

“What?” Louis spluttered.

Harry looked at his watch with a sinister smirk. “I do believe it’s time for a car wash.”


	4. Catching That Breeze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~ Zayn POV! ~

“You alright mate?” Zayn lifted his head to see Niall leaning over the other side of the counter, concerned eyebrows drawn together.

“Yeah.” Zayn sighed. Truthfully he was still in shock and couldn't get naked Liam out of his mind, it was like Liam himself had crawled up into his brain and was now refusing to leave. It wasn’t that he disliked what he saw exactly; he actually thought Liam was a handsome guy, he just didn't expect to see him naked. Ever. Let alone on the first day of the job. Knowing Louis had just gone through a similar ordeal, only his involved a banana, was making him feel slightly better. Where the hell was that boy anyway? He had taken Harry’s second cup of tea up to him ten minutes ago; Zayn was starting to feel abandoned.

“Well, apparently, Liam wants to meet you out the back for something.” Niall must have understood Zayn’s confused expression because he shrugged in response. As Zayn exited through the kitchen door Niall called out, “Have fun!” and Zayn scoffed. It was already sunny outside and the air was humid, Zayn much preferred to remain under a roof or in the shade. His shirt was already sticking to his back slightly, thanks to the sweat, and he wasn’t much of a fan of outdoor activities anyway. He liked to skateboard and ride his bike occasionally but he mainly stayed indoors drawing, reading comic books or playing video games.

He opened the door leading to the garden and immediately found a football slowly rolling to his feet. Looking up, he saw a tank-top wearing Liam stare back at him, hands on his hips. He was wearing shorts too and looked incredibly content and comfortable, his hair glistened in the sun.

“Don’t just stare at it, kick it back.” Liam called as Zayn fumbled with the ball, bringing it back in front of him and kicking it over to Liam. It was a pretty pathetic kick and the ball ended up in a bush to Liam’s right. Zayn chanted ‘idiot idiot idiot’ in his head over and over until it was all he could think, and suddenly there was a ball in the air coming towards him and crashing into his chest. Liam’s laughter followed while the winded boy tried to catch his breath. “Wow, you suck at this, don’t you?” Liam was still grinning, but there was a concerned look in his eyes.

“Yeah I guess I do.” Zayn couldn’t help but laugh, he enjoyed football but he wasn’t great at it, despite all the practice he’d had from the times Louis had dragged him down to their local park to play.

“Okay, well I have a better idea than football anyway.” There was a mischievous tone in Liam’s voice and it was giving him shivers.

“And what’s that, sir?” Liam was in front of him now and if he concentrated enough Zayn was sure he could count his eyelashes.

“I want you to run through the gardens.” There was a five second pause and Zayn held his breathe. “Naked.” The word slithered out of Liam’s mouth and echoed in Zayn’s brain. Naked. He wanted him to run through the gardens naked. Naked, as in, all of his manly bits hanging out, in full view for anyone to see, for Liam to see.

“You- you're kidding right?” Zayn spluttered and he pictured himself in his mind running beside the manor, freshly cut grass tickling his feet, the sun caressing his skin and his dick dancing around, jumping against his thighs and no. That was not going to happen. "Why the hell do you want me to do that?"

“Because it would be hilarious! You can’t say no because I dare you to and I also order you to, so it’s an order-dare, which is something you have to do.” Liam was looking very pleased with himself, arms crossed over his chest and wearing a smug smile."Come on, it's no big deal, I've done it."

"You did?"

"Yes, it was liberating." Zayn sighed in defeat. Maybe this was a chance, an opportunity, to act a little spontaneous for once, like his best friend always told him to do. Maybe later on he could recount the story back to Louis and earn a proud slap on the back.

"Okay, alright." Liam watched in awe as Zayn tugged his shirt up and over his head and began to slid the jeans off of his legs.

“Whoa, you’re actually gonna do it?” Liam sounded impressed and that made Zayn blush with proudness.

“Yeah, why not? I thought you said it's no big deal?” Zayn played it cool but his heart was beating so fast he was afraid it would jump out of his chest and flop around on the grass.

“I think I underestimated you, Zayn.” With one final swift movement, Zayn had pulled off his boxers and now he was finally naked. Completely and utterly naked. Thank god he had trimmed his pubes in the shower the day before. Liam was staring at him, observing every inch of his skin and his mouth was hung open, his eyes sparkled. It felt like hours passed, but it was only seconds. The two boys were completely still. Liam licked his bottom lip and Zayn watched his tongue. This was all too odd for him so he began to run. He ran past the tank-top wearing boy. He ran past a scrub in the shape of a cat and he ran past the water fountain, ignoring the splashes of water that landed on his skin, making him shudder. He ran through the garden, alongside the manor, leaving Liam behind; who had watched after him the entire time in disbelief. He was alone now, surrounded by flowers and plants, and the grass under his feet were licking at his toes and-

Thud! Zayn stumbled backwards and fell down onto his behind. He could already tell he would have a bruise on his tailbone tomorrow.

“What the fuck?” Harry Styles was looking down at him, shocked, surprised and confused. Rightfully so, as Harry had only just stepped out of the backdoor of the manor before a naked Zayn had run straight into his chest.

“I- sorry sir- I-“ Zayn desperately tried to cover his junk with his hands but it was too late, Harry had seen everything.

“Zayn?” As if this moment couldn’t get anymore awkward, Louis appeared beside Harry and seemed to be just as confused as the curly haired boy. “Wait, why the fuck are you naked?” He was really not able to handle this situation right now, it was his first day on the job and he was already running around naked. Sprawling up onto his feet, he muttered an apology and ran away from the two boys, ignoring Louis’s calls to come back and ignoring Harry’s giggles while he watched the boy’s bottom disappear into a bush. He would explain himself to Louis later when he was wearing clothes again, and he would never talk to Harry again out of sheer embarrassment, and he would kill Liam.

Zayn made it back to the spot he had left Liam at, only to find grass, grass, grass. No Liam and no clothes. Zayn looked around frantically, maybe they had been moved to the side, or under the tree, or beside the door to the manor or maybe they had blown away in the wind, or…No. Zayn knew exactly what had happened. Liam had stolen his clothes and was now hiding them from him. This exact thing had happened to him once at a party. He wasn’t going to give in and try and find Liam, there was no way he was going to enter the manor and look for him, cupping his junk, his bottom on full display and his hair full of leaves. He probably looked like some strange feral, jungle boy. He would probably end up fired because this was definitely not what he was employed to do.

Instead, he sat up against the trunk of a tree, facing away from the manor and into the garden. The sun was shining even brighter now and there were birds singing all around him. He would wait here until Liam grew bored and returned his clothes and if he didn't, he would wait for Louis to return and give him the key to the guesthouse, where he would put on some of his own clothes. For now, he decided to just enjoy the scenery and the peacefulness and later focus on getting his revenge, somehow.


	5. The Water is Exactly What I Wanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~Louis POV ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i suck i suck i suck. i started watching attack on titan and completely forgot about this and i want to thank everyone for the comments and kudos etc and also i want to apologise for not updating this sooner!!
> 
> (please excuse any spelling or grammatical mistakes like always hehe)

Harry’s hand was wrapped around Louis’s wrist tight and while he was dragged towards the garage he decided that this whole day had been a total mindfuck so far. He played the bizarre run-in with a very naked Zayn over and over in his mind and found no reasoning behind it. Didn't you have to sign something to become a nudist? Surely you didn't just strip off all your clothes and start running around with your bits out? Was that all it took?

“I think I should apologize on behalf of Zayn, sir, I’m sure he didn’t mean to-“

“Run into me naked? Do you think he forgot to put his clothes on this morning?” Harry looked back at him over his shoulder, eyebrows raised. “I nearly did that once.”

“Really? What? And, no because I watched him get dressed.”

“You did?” Harry had turned his face away.

“He’s probably super embarrassed and he’s not a nudist or whatever, so I have no idea why he was naked.” Louis shrugged and watched as the garage grew closer. It was possibly bigger than the guesthouse, which he believed was completely unfair. Why should Harry’s cars have better accommodation than him?

“Wait here.” Harry released Louis’s wrist only to point an accusing finger at his chest and then at the cement surface below them, before disappearing through a side door of the garage. Louis stood still for about five seconds before he took two steps backwards. The garage was entirely brick except for the biggest roller garage door Louis had ever seen, which suddenly rumbled into life and began to slide upwards, slowly revealing the inside of the garage. White walls, metal benches, tools hanging around the place and Harry standing beside a black Audi R8 Coupe.

“Damn.” Louis whispered. Behind that was a classic, white Ford Capri as well as a Range Rover. “Holy shit.” Clearly Harry had style when it came to cars.

“Impressed?” Harry asked with a chuckle, obviously amused by the shocked expression Louis was wearing. “I guess it’s hard not to be when you’re driving that sorry excuse for a car…” Harry proudly watched as Louis’s mouth slammed shut and he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Excuse you?" Okay, so Louis’s car hadn’t been looking so great for a while now and that time he reversed into a street sign hadn’t helped the situation a single bit, but did that give Harry the right to poke fun at it? No, definitely not.

“Is it supposed to be a ford focus?” Harry smirked.

“I’m going to punch you.” Why was Louis smiling, he shouldn’t be smiling, why couldn't he stop smiling?

“No, you’re not, or I’ll fire you and give you a spanking.” Louis had to lean against the garage wall for support because that threat was incredibly tempting right now. “And anyway, you need to clean this car first.” He pointed to the Audi.

“But it already looks clean.” The windows were spotless, even the rims sparkled and the inside looked immaculate as well.

“Don’t be silly, it’s filthy. Now, here’s a bucket and a sponge and there’s a tap over there, to fill the bucket, and here’s the cleaning stuff…” Harry threw the sponge at him and Louis let it bounce off of his chest and onto the floor. “Chop, chop, I don’t have all day, Lewis.”

“It’s Louis.”

“I know.” Louis rolled his eyes and picked up the sponge with a sigh. The car was obviously clean and Harry was simply doing this for his own amusement, but Louis was going to play along and get the job over and done with. Then he would track down Zayn and laugh at him for running into Harry nude. Looking up, he noticed the curly haired menace watching him, his bottom lip caught between his teeth, eyes wide and unblinking.

“Creep.” Louis muttered. “Are you going to stand there and watch me or something?” Harry finally blinked.

“Yes, is that a problem?” Louis was about to answer ‘yes’ when he was interrupted, “And don’t call me a creep, call me ‘sir’, remember?” Louis simply stuck his tongue out in response.

The water from the tap was cold but Louis didn’t mind because the sun was shining and the air was sticky and humid. It felt good to hold his hand under the running water and let it trickle between his fingers. Goosebumps appeared on his arm and he watched the bucket gradually fill until it was just over half way, and with his wet hand he twisted the tap off and hauled the bucket up. Harry had driven the car out of the garage and parked it on the patio outside, so it was now sitting proudly in the sunshine along with the owner, who had found a deck chair and a pair of ray-bans which Louis wanted to snatch from his face and snap in half. He also found it hard not to just go ahead and pour the bucket of water over him.

“Do I really have to clean the whole thing?” Louis placed his hand onto the bonnet, but only for a few seconds, as it was incredibly hot and the heat bit into his skin.

“Yes, I want it spotless.” Louis turned around to find Harry busy making a daisy chain.

“Sure thing boss.” Louis was often very good at half doing a job, or even not doing a job at all. His room back home was in no way organized or clean, and whenever his mother told him to polish all surfaces in the house he would frequently end up using the cleaning polish to draw crudely drawn penises everywhere instead. Other times, Louis would take a job extremely seriously and would try his very best, especially if it meant looking after his little sisters, cooking them dinner and tucking them into bed at night.

This was not one of those times though, and so Louis made a point to carelessly get bubbles absolutely everywhere and occasionally flick water in Harry’s direction. The floor around the car was looking very wet and it was pretty much one big puddle now, Louis had long kicked off his shoes and socks and he knew there were bubbles in his hair but what did it even matter? His shirt was almost entirely drenched and although it was slightly uncomfortable, he liked the way it clung to his skin. He could feel Harry watching him, behind those sunglasses, so he was going to make this entertaining.

The car was beginning to look exceptionally clean now and as Louis bent over the front of the bonnet to reach the only remaining space untouched, he heard Harry stand up from the deckchair and sneak up behind him. They were probably only centimeters apart and although they were both clothed the whole situation felt lewd and very intense. Harry hadn’t spoken for a while and Louis had occasionally filled the easy silence with a hum of a song, or a random animal sound just to be annoying.

It was different now though, Louis could tell by the tingling sensation in his back and the fact that for some reason he was holding his breath. He stood up straight and leant against Harry’s chest behind him, his body flat and firm. Hands were warily placed on his hips; Louis relaxed his shoulders and eventually felt the tips of Harry’s fingers dig into the wet fabric of his shirt, into his skin, not enough to hurt, only to pinch. Louis was just about to sigh out Harry’s name because this was nice, when the boy suddenly released his grip and walked away completely, away from Louis, heading back towards the manor in a disorderly hurry.

The birds sounded louder now and the sun was shining too bright, making Louis squint and was that a headache coming on? He needed a glass of water and the bubbles in his hair had dripped down onto his forehead, into his eyes and they were beginning to burn a little, causing tears to form.


	6. Four Hands and Then Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~ Zayn POV ~
> 
>  
> 
> while i wrote this i couldn't stop listening to heartbeats by the knife, so listen to that when reading this - or just listen to anything by the knife or fever ray because they are both 10/10  
> also, search 'cupping prank' into google to see what zayn and louis are doing to poor liam heh heh

Zayn had happily been dreaming about joining the Justice League and pulling on some purple spandex when suddenly he was blinking his eyes open to find a rather bored looking Louis leaning over him, flicking cold water onto his face and into his crotch.

“Wake up before I pour the whole bucket over you.” And with those words Zayn sat up straight against the tree behind him and opened his eyes wide, noticing that Louis did indeed have a bucket by his feet and that was precisely where he wanted it to remain. “So you’re a nudist now?” Louis asked and cocked an eyebrow, using his fingers to flick some water at his crotch. Again.

“No, no of course not,” Zayn coughed to clear his voice, which was rough and deep from sleep, “Liam stole my clothes.” Louis had seen him naked plenty times before but he still felt uncomfortably exposed outside like this, so he drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs, hugging himself.

“Okay, cool, but why did you take them off?”

“A dare. Well, an order-dare, whatever the fuck that is.” Zayn shrugged as if the whole situation was uninteresting, which it wasn’t.

“Have a nice nap?” Louis asked, his voice layered with sarcasm and frustration.

“It was alright, what you been up to?” An attempt to gain insight into why Louis was looking a mix of annoyed and confused and why he had a bucket of water.

“I washed one of Harry’s cars.” Louis looked away from him, turning to gaze in the general direction of the guesthouse instead. “Zayn, we should get you dressed and have some lunch.” He nodded and pulled his body up, speculating why Louis was looking so distant, something had probably happened with Harry. Maybe the rich kid had taken the teasing too far.

“You alright mate?” Zayn tried to make it sound casual, tried to hide the concern in his voice, knowing full well Louis didn’t enjoy others worrying over him.

“Yes.” Zayn wasn’t convinced. “Yeah, of course, I’m just a bit tired.” Louis forced a smile and began to walk towards the guesthouse, Zayn following close behind.

Louis was kind enough to lead a trail back which mainly had them behind trees or hidden in bushes and scrubs, trying their best to blend in with nature and lowering the chance of anyone catching sight of Zayn and his bare bottom. He was starting to feel a bit like Tarzan now (did this make Louis Jane?) and they eventually reached the door to the guesthouse.

Zayn slipped inside first and headed straight to the bedroom to grab the spare uniform tucked away in the wardrobe, he heard Louis enter the room after him and there was a moment of silence before it was followed with the unmistakable sound of Louis throwing himself onto his bed and letting out a long moan. As Zayn dressed himself, he turned to find his friend face down with his arms and legs spread out, looking very similar to how he usually looks coming home from a night out.

“You should see his cars.” His words were muffled thanks to the cushions but Zayn was good at this and could make them out anyway.

“I should?”

Louis turned his head and glared at Zayn. “He watched me while I cleaned his Audi.”

“Bet you loved that.” Zayn winked and was glad to see a smile work it’s way onto Louis’s face.

“Shut up.” Zayn just grinned and finished with the last button on his shirt. After checking his appearance in the mirror, he grabbed at his friend’s ankles and attempted to pull him off of the bed. “Alright, alright, you little shit, I’m coming.”

“Let’s find Niall and force him to have lunch with us.” Zayn headed out of the door, back out into the daylight and waited for Louis to join him by his side. During their short walk to the manor’s back entrance, Louis picked leaves off of every bush they passed and threw them at Zayn’s face.

Arriving at the kitchen expecting madness, as it was lunchtime, they found the place surprising calm. Niall was hunched over a saucepan on one of the stoves, stirring something with all his care and attention. There was an old lady on the other side of the room, her grey hair gathered in a clip, steady hands chopping up a variety of fruit.

“Yo! Niall?” Zayn could see whatever food he was working on was incredibly important to him, so he pretty much had to shout in his face to get his attention and once Niall had recognized whom it was, a grin appeared along with a spoon full of soup.

“Oh mate, you have got to try some of this.” Zayn watched the steam dance above the food and decided he didn’t want a burnt tongue right now.

“Gladly bro, is there enough for Louis and I to have?”

“Of course, of course.” Louis appeared next to Niall and leaned over to look into the saucepan.

“What is it?”

“Chicken and vegetable soup.”

“It smells amazing.”

“Thanks man, Eleanor helped me out a bit but I pretty much made it all myself.”

“Eleanor?” Zayn repeated and Niall pointed over his shoulder at the old lady, who was in her own little world of fruit and knives.

“Wait a sec, I’ll introduce you,” Niall handed him the wooden spoon, “Here, keep stirring that.” Zayn carefully mixed the soup while Niall strolled over to Eleanor and after leaning over to steal a strawberry, he led her back to the other side of the kitchen where the boys waited. “Eleanor, this is Louis and Zayn.”

“Oh, the two boys you were telling me about!” She nodded to herself; a friendly smile upon her face, Zayn could see that despite her age she was very pretty. “How lovely to meet you both,” Suddenly the two boys were being dragged into a hug and Zayn’s face pressed into her apron, the glossy material sticking to his cheek. “Are you hungry? Would you like a drink? I can make you two some food or maybe a smoothie or something?” Her eyes flicked back and forth between them but before Zayn could politely decline, Niall answered instead.

“Nahh, I’ve made them some soup, but cheers El, that fruit salad looks amazing by the way.” What an absolute charmer.

“Thank you Niall, you know what Harry’s like with his fruit, thought I’d make him a little treat.” Once released from the hug, Zayn watched as Louis looked back at the fruit salad on the counter. Eleanor hurried back over to resume her chopping and left the boys alone to eat their bread and soup at the small table tucked away in one of the kitchen’s corners.

“So, boys, how you been?” Niall asked, genuinely curious. Usually Zayn wouldn’t even have to open his mouth, Louis would be straight in there answering the question for both of them and going off on a tangent, making jokes throughout, but this time he just sat there carefully blowing on his soup. Zayn eyed him suspiciously but got no response.

“It’s been an odd morning to say the least.” Zayn finally replied, and Niall must have sensed something because he dramatically placed down his spoon.

“I want to know everything.”

So Zayn went first, describing his encounter with Liam, describing the whole situation much to Niall’s delight, and Louis followed with his story, which ended with “and then I finished washing the car and found Zayn asleep”, and Zayn could tell he was leaving out details, many possibly very important details. All three of them had finished their meals now and Niall pointed at Zayn, eyebrows raised.

“So what are you going to do about Liam?”

“What do you mean?”

“He stole your clothes and left you naked, don’t you want to get revenge or something?” Louis nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to get fired.” Zayn sighed.

“Okay, fair enough. In that case just think of a prank and make sure it won’t do anything permanent. I’m sure he would see the funny side of it.”

Every prank Zayn knew raced back and forth in his mind, but none of them were funny or crafty enough, he also didn’t want to break or cause damage to Liam or his belongings because he knew he would be fired before he could even laugh over it.

“Do that cupping prank, Zayn.” Louis’s mischievous eyes stared back at him. ‘The ones with all the cups.” He knew exactly which one he meant, he had done it once before. Damn, how could he possibly forget about that prank? It was perfect. He would gather as many plastic cups as he could find, fill them with water, place them all over Liam’s room until it was impossible to walk anywhere without spilling one, and then several others, over. This was going to be hilarious.

“You’re a fucking genius, Lou.” Zayn patted him on the back and Louis nodded.

“I am aware of that.”

“I’ll need your help though and we need to move quickly or he’ll catch us half way through.”

“No need to worry mate, I saw Harry dragging Liam away earlier, I think they’ve gone for a romantic car drive.” Niall chuckled but both Zayn and Louis remained silent. “They should be gone for a couple of hours, they usually are.” This was good news; they have plenty of time, but why did the idea of Liam spending time alone with Harry make Zayn feel funny, and why was Louis suddenly hitting his spoon against the edge of the table rather aggressively.

“Niall, do you have any plastic cups we could use?” Zayn asked hopefully.

“I’ve got loads, you're free to use them all if you want, I can always order in some more.” He pushed himself off of his seat, and walked across the kitchen and into the storeroom.

Two minutes crawled by and Zayn was pretty sure Louis was asleep, because his head was resting on the table, facing away, and he hadn’t moved the entire time. Niall dropped into the empty seat next to him, half a chocolate bar hanging out of his mouth and his arms filled with stacks of white, plastic cups. “Here ya go.” He mumbled around the chocolate and placed the cups into Zayn’s open arms. “Have fun. I’m going to go take a nap.” Louis pulled his head up.

“Siesta! Sounds good!” He sang out, but before he could follow Niall to beddy-bye land Zayn had grabbed his wrist.

“No you idiot, you’re helping me with this damn prank.”

“A minute ago I was a genius and now I’m an idiot? Which is it Malik?”

“A mixture of the two. Now come on, help me carry these.” He handed Louis two stacks of cups and relished the irritated expression the brunet was wearing.

They made their way up to Liam’s room and it was thankfully unlocked and empty. On his bed was Zayn’s uniform, which he snatched up and threw outside the bedroom’s door. The room was en suite so it came with it’s own bathroom and therefore had a sink, making the whole process exceedingly easier and the boys filled the plastic cups quickly, placing them all over the floor, deliberately close together to make walking in-between them impossible. They had covered about half the floor when Louis had unexpectedly burst out laughing.

“I’m- I’m sorry it’s just, imagine his face when he opens his door and sees this.” Another wave of laughter crashed over him and he nearly knocked over one of the cups this time, but Zayn was too busy chuckling to notice it. Part of him wanted to hide in the room somewhere and watch the moment but another bigger part of him knew he should probably be nowhere close by at that point.

"Hey, shall I piss in one of the cups?" Louis asked, completely serious.

Zayn quinted at him. "Ew, no Lou. That's gross, even for you."

"It was just a suggestion, you can stop judging me now."

They filled the last few spaces with the cups, and after standing in awe of their accomplishment for a minute or two; they carefully shut the bedroom door and walked back to the kitchen, where Eleanor made them both a nice cup of tea.


	7. God Only Knows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~ Louis POV ~
> 
> mmm toes mmmmm
> 
> (thank you for your comments and remember that i love you)

Was it his second or third cup of tea? Louis wasn’t too sure now and he didn’t bother waiting for it to cool, taking an enthusiastic gulp and gasping his mouth open immediately afterwards. Maybe he should have waited or maybe he was just trying to distract himself.

It had only been around six or so hours since Harry had dragged him around the place, but the manor was beginning to feel awfully empty and abandoned and worst of all, quiet. Niall was busy cooking with Eleanor, Zayn was checking out the swimming pool for some bizarre reason, considering he couldn’t swim and Louis was admiring the manor’s DVD collection in what he assumed was the film room. Harry and Liam had been out since midday and no one had any idea when they’d be back.

There was a huge flat screen TV fixed onto one of the walls that Louis had marched right up to and pressed his hand flat out against (just to check it was real). Nothing was playing, of course, but he could imagine what something like Game of Thrones or Homeland would look like on it and it was blowing his mind.

Placing his tea down upon one of the tabletops, he moved toward the shelves that held the DVDS, fingers brushing over the collection whilst he read out their titles under his breath. His finger landed on Love Actually and he noticed that stacked up beside it was another copy.

“It’s one of my favourite films.” Did he just imagine that? It sounded real, but maybe he was just losing his mind or he had developed a case of schizophrenia.

Louis didn’t speak, only dropped his hand down to his side and slowly, gently turned his head to discover that his mind was not lost yet and Harry really was standing about a meter behind him, his eyes flickering over Louis’s features and he brought his bottom lip up into his mouth only to bite down onto it, as if forcibly preventing any words from tumbling out and filling the silence. Louis felt a little bit nauseous because Harry’s hair was messy and his eyes were glistening and so very green. “Hey.” He broke the silence again, finally.

“Hi.”

“Have you seen it?”

“Huh?”

“Love Actually, have you seen it before?”

“Yeah, ages ago though.”

“Let’s watch it.”

“What? Right now?”

“Yeah right now.”

Harry walked up to stand beside him and leaned over to pull both copies out.

“But it’s nowhere near Christmas…” Louis pointed out but the boy just shrugged his shoulders and smiled weakly as he slid the disc into the player. Louis couldn’t argue with that, so he made his way over to the sofa and lowered himself down, way over on the left side, leaving plenty of space between Harry and him. He tried not to think about what any of this meant but a part of him wanted to know if Harry usually watched films with his employees, or if this was a special occasion. The screen of the TV filled with the colour blue; giving the room a navy glow and as the trailers began to play, words and visuals one big blur to Louis, Harry turned to look at him.

“Popcorn?”

“Naturally.” Louis couldn’t stop the smile appear as Harry winked in response before pulling out his iPhone to call the kitchen and ask politely for both sugar and salted popcorn in two separate bowls. Once finished with repeating ‘thank you’ he hung up and settled into a more comfortable position, bringing his legs up onto the sofa and turning his back against the armrest, his whole body now facing Louis.

“I might quote the whole script as the film plays so… be prepared for that.” Harry warned and he looked completely serious.

“You’re such a weirdo.”

“Thank you.” He even managed to make that sound genuine too. Whilst they discussed the second trailer that had just finished playing, Niall bounced into the room, both hands occupied.

“The popcorn, sir.” It was this exact moment Louis remembered who he was and who Harry was and physically stiffened, trying to appear more formal. Niall didn’t appear to think it strange that Louis was hanging out and watching a film with Harry and maybe this meant this really wasn’t a big deal and that Louis’s heart should stop beating so fast and so damn hard. Niall nodded at Louis, which Louis mirrored back, and then he was gone, leaving him with the boy sitting opposite, leaving him to watch as Harry threw popcorn into the air only to catch it with his mouth.

It was about three quarters of the way into the film when Louis felt Harry’s toes on his. At some point he had copied his sitting position, leaning half against the armrest and half against the back of the sofa, but making sure to keep empty space between his and Harry’s feet to avoid any awkward brushes of skin. It was Harry who had decided that that was just no good and instead pushed his feet out further until his cold toes greeted Louis’s and then he wriggled them around, making sure Louis was well aware of the situation.

Louis thought about pulling his feet away, he thought about it for exactly two seconds before he wriggled his own toes, mimicking him, and savoring the giggle it produced but not once taking his eyes off of the TV screen. He tried to steady his breathing and privately cursed himself for getting so worked up over Harry’s stupid toes.

It wasn’t long until the end of the film and now Colin Farrell was kissing some lady on screen as Louis tried hard not to cry because it was all so happy. The beginning of God Only knows by The Beach Boys began to play and Harry sang every single word, occasionally glancing over at Louis and making his breath hitch in his throat.

“Merry Christmas!” Louis sang and Harry’s mouth swung open as he barked out a laugh, which made Louis feel all warm and tingly inside. He liked making Harry laugh.

“So, did you enjoy it?” Harry asked after he finally had his giggles under control, now reduced to a giant grin that looked almost painful.

“It was life changing, I feel like a new person.” Louis teased, pressing his hand flat against his chest, staring dramatically off into the distance. "But, just wondering, have you heard of the films The Godfather and Pulp Fiction? They are total shit compared to this masterpiece." Harry roared out a laugh and Louis felt high just listening to it.

They let the credits roll until the very end and Harry wiggled his toes against Louis’s feet one more time before pulling himself up and switching off the DVD player.


	8. Where Do People Like Us Float

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~ Zayn POV ~
> 
> [this is exactly how the pool looks like](http://www.oneoffplaces.co.uk/upload/property/category_1269_Evening%20sun%20by%20the%20pool.jpg)

He would definitely drown. The water would swallow him whole and push its way into his lungs, weighing his body down, taking over and causing him to forget what breathing felt like, what oxygen even was. The chlorine would burn into his eyes, his throat would spasm and the darkness would creep in, as he drifted off away from consciousness, away from life. He would never wake again. 

Zayn wriggled his toes against the floor beneath his bare feet, to reassure himself he was on flat land and in no current danger. Even so, he sighed. The water seemed so peaceful and the evening sun had casted his shadow, which floated calmly on the surface, inviting him in, just for a dip. 

He wondered if he drowned, who would find him? Would his eyes be open or closed?

Sinking down into one of the pool lounge chairs he sighed again and watched the sun reflect off the water and predicted how much longer it was going to be around before the moon took over. It was already around 6 or 7 o’clock and Zayn had finished putting the clothes in the dryer and had already set the table ready for dinner, which was apparently going to happen later than usual as he hadn’t seen any sign of Liam or Harry yet. Maybe he could get away with closing his eyes and having a quick nap, maybe Jessica wouldn’t mind if she found him, maybe Louis would come and join him soon, filling the silence with random gibberish.

“Hey, prankster, wake up.” That didn’t sound like Louis. Zayn opened his eyes, confirming his assumption correct; that Liam was standing beside him, equipped with his hands on his hips and a playful grin on his face. Since when was he back from his little drive with Harry? “Very impressive but I’m afraid it’s payback time.”

“Mate, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Play innocent and maybe he’ll give up and join in with snoozing beside the pool, that was Zayn’s plan, but Liam’s expression revealed how unconvinced he was. Zayn's plans were often pretty shitty. 

“I got about half way into my room before I knocked one over and then it was just like dominoes, they wouldn’t stop falling over and my socks are soaked. “ Liam drew his fingers through his hair, pouting like a rejected toddler. “ And now there are wet patches in my carpet.” 

Zayn toppled over from laughing so much and just as he had regained his composure, hands and arms scooped him up into the air, gripping him against a torso, fingers digging into his thigh and shoulder. Liam was holding him like he was a damn cat or a baby. 

“Put me down you fucker!” He was still giggling because he hadn’t been picked up like this since he was eight years old and it’s a strange feeling when you’re reminded what it’s like to be a child, what it’s like to have your entire self lifted up with ease, as if you were made out of feathers. It was only after Liam took a step towards the pool that something clicked in his brain and he understood the situation. Liam was going to drop him into the water. Panic washed over him.

“You are unbelievably light.” Liam muttered, gazing down at him.

“No Liam, wait, don’t throw me in there-“ The pool was only a step away now.

“Why not?”

“Because I- I can’t swim and, and I’ll drown and die and it’ll be your fault so please, put me down.” He attempted to wriggle free but Liam was stupidly strong and obviously thought Zayn was pretending, shaking his head in disbelief, disregarding the echoes of ‘no’ and ‘wait’. He lifted Zayn over the water and held him out in the air before responding. 

“No way, you are not getting out of this with that shitty excuse.”

The arms and the hands were yanked away from underneath him and suddenly Zayn felt like he was watching this whole moment from above, watching in slow motion. No longer feeling like he was made out of feathers but rocks and stones instead. He tried to take in a deep breath before hitting the water but it was too late and he was already being pulled under, leaving a splash behind as the water grabbed onto him greedily, sinking him down. His eyes shot open and it was so dark and so much bigger beneath the surface. Zayn was momentarily surprised at how lukewarm the water was, expecting it to be freezing cold instead. Also surprising was how fast he sank and how quickly the evening sunlight crawled away above him. His feet tapped against the bottom of the pool before he drifted down to sit with his arms reaching up above his head. He wanted desperately to guide them through the water, swim up to the surface and not be so useless, but when he tried he could merely swing them around slowly and hopelessly. The gasp of air he had managed to catch escaped from his lips and he watched the bubbles dance in front of his face before climbing up to the surface, abandoning Zayn completely. 

How long had he been under now? How long did it take before his lungs flooded with water? Was Liam still up there, watching and waiting, or had he returned to his room believing Zayn would swim out of the pool and be fine on his own? 

It was still so, so dark but he could make out the figure coming towards him, a shadow flying through the water effortlessly. He felt it’s grasp around his body and Zayn thought that perhaps this was how the Grim Reaper came to collect you. As he was hauled up to the surface and as the light drew nearer he noticed the tank top his face was pressed flat against, lifting his head he could make out an unshaven chin he had grown familiar with.

Zayn was struck with the urge to close his eyes but then the sudden impact of air hit him and brought him back to life, wide awake. It felt so cold against his skin and his body felt heavy below the surface, despite Liam’s efforts to hold him up above the water. “Zayn? Zayn! Hold on to me! Zayn, hold on to my shoulders!” He could see Liam was shouting but the words were muffled in his ears. He looped his arms over Liam’s shoulders and around his neck while the boy paddled them over to the side of the pool, gripping onto the ledge so tight his knuckles whitened. Zayn hadn’t noticed he was coughing. “I’m so sorry-“ Zayn waved away the apology sluggishly; feeling like his entire body was filled with water, splashing around inside of him as he moved. 

Liam pushed Zayn up out of the pool using all of his strength and it resulted in him going under for a few seconds, but he was soon pulling himself up over the edge and collapsing down on the floor beside Zayn, panting and breathless. “I should have listened.” He managed to breath out after a few seconds and Zayn tried to respond but he only coughed again. “You could have drowned… I’m so sorry… Zayn? Fuck.” 

The sky felt so close so Zayn lifted his right hand and reached up to grasp onto it.

“Cheers for saving me.” He felt silly saying it but they were four very important words to him right now. Liam was silent. Zayn pushed himself up into a sitting position and as he observed his shaking hands resting in his lap he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. Liam sighed into the hug and Zayn echoed this a moment later. He didn't like people worrying about him and Liam's worry was everywhere, it was unavoidable. Zayn was the one that worried, it had always been that way.

There was a whisper of unknown words and the possibility of a fleeting kiss landing on his temple. 

Something close to five minutes passed by before the two were interrupted from their shared silence, in the form of Jessica announcing dinner was taking place shortly. When she noticed their wet clothes, the puddle they had created and the fact that Liam was clinging anxiously onto Zayn, she paused and lingered for a moment, before taking a step closer. 

“Hey, are you two alright?” Zayn answered her with a nod and delicate smile, and Liam loosened his grip around him considerably. “Okay, well, you two should get some dry clothes on or you’ll catch a cold.” Liam broke the hug, nodding his head in agreement; it didn't make sense to remain in their soaked clothes a second longer. “Zayn, I’ll grab you a spare uniform. Will you be okay to serve at dinner?” Jessica gave him a hand with standing up although he was feeling much more stable now and could have probably managed it alone.

“Yeah, I’m fine, sorry about this.” He indicated towards his drenched uniform currently hanging off of his body, stuck to his skin unpleasantly. 

“No, it’s fine… as long as you’re okay.” She smiled before guiding them both back into the manor.

“I’ll just… I'll go get changed” Liam muttered, as they walked past the stairs leading to the second floor. He rubbed at his neck awkwardly and glanced over at Zayn before running up the steps, wet socks smacking against the stone flooring. 

“So, did you two just fancy a little evening dip in the pool or did you both fall in?” Jessica asked, her thin eyebrows raised high. 

“I mixture of the two.” Zayn half-lied because he really did not feel like going into details right now. Jessica dug out a uniform from a wardrobe tucked away in room beside the kitchen, that ended up being slightly too big but Zayn wasn’t fussed, already busy appreciating the dry material nestle against his skin. His feet remained bare but Jessica insisted it would be fine for one evening to work shoeless and sockless. 

Entering the kitchen he heard Louis’s voice accompanied by Niall’s laughter and as he shuffled over to where they were standing, laying down plates on a counter, Louis eyed him suspiciously.

“Where the hell have you been and why is your hair wet?” Louis pointed to Zayn’s (still) dripping fringe before reaching out and grabbing a handful, he had a thing for wet hair.

“And where are your shoes?” Niall asked with a chuckle. Zayn shrugged and laughed, he would explain it all later when the water in his ears had gone completely, for now he would just do his job.


	9. The Face in the Ceiling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~ Louis POV ~
> 
> Ohhhhhhh, Harold.

Niall was eating sweet corn and Zayn, whose sleeves extended past his knuckles, was acting suspicious again, so Louis focused on balancing soup in one hand and a pizza on a plate in the other. It was a pretty big pizza and he had commended Eleanor several times, praising her cookery and secretly hoping she would whip up one for him too. Zayn appeared by his side, hands also busy.

“It’s something to do with the cupping prank, right?” Louis was curious to know what had happened but Zayn was good at keeping quiet, there was a reason why people described him as mysterious. His response was a quick nod and Louis sighed. “Is he pissed off?”

“No, in fact, he thought it was very impressive.” Oh. Louis smiled proudly; it had been his idea after all.

“Good lad.”

The two boys carefully made their way into the dining room where Liam, now in fresh clothes consisting of black jeans and a shirt that displayed the Superman logo across his chest, had just joined Harry at the table. Louis lifted his eyes up from the plate in hand to find Harry watching him thoughtfully and, for a second or two, time stood completely still along with his breathing.

“You pizza, sir” He announced in a theatrically posh voice while positioning the plate in front of Harry, he had to lean over him slightly to do so and he watched as Harry bit his lip into a grin.

The dining room was outrageously beautiful, furnished with a gorgeous wooden table and wooden chairs that wore red velvet; paintings of distant lands lined the walls and a golden chandelier hung from the ceiling. The ruby candles scattered around the room flickered in time with Louis’s heartbeats. Zayn had returned to the kitchen and Liam was already half way through a pizza slice when he shuffled over to his side and, picking up the water jug, asked, “Would you like some water?” politely, wearing his sweetest smile.

“Yeah.“ Liam swallowed down his food. “Thanks, Louis.” Harry picked up his empty glass and seized it up into the air; Louis smiled again and moved to fill his too.

“Liam? More water?” Louis asked while pouring, eyebrows high.

“Er… no, I’m still good thank you.” Liam looked down at his full glass, puzzled.

Louis’s lips twitched, aching to slip into a smirk. “You sure?” Liam nodded slowly, hesitant.

“Well, how about I get you another glass?”

“No, I don’t need- I’m okay Louis.”

“Okay, sure.” Louis placed the jug down into the centre of the table and left the room, leaving behind two very cute and very bemused boys. Once back in the kitchen, he giggled his way to the sink and, ignoring Zayn’s glare, held an empty glass under the running tap.

“What are you doing?” Zayn questioned, somehow he could just tell when Louis was up to no good, which was pretty often.

“Nothing. Go away.” Zayn clicked his tongue. “Actually, can you take this to Liam for me?” Louis handed him the glass of water.

“Why are you suddenly serving Liam?”

“Shhh Malik, Liam is dying of thirst out there. Come on, chop chop.” He clapped his hands twice quickly, making Zayn flinch.

“Yeah alright, just be quiet.” Louis shooed him away, watching him scuffle out of the kitchen and bounced on his feet the whole time he was gone. A minute later the door swung open and he faked a casual lean against the counter behind him.

“What the hell Lou? He already had water, cheers for making me look stupid.’ Louis stuck out his tongue. Zayn would sulk and be mad at him for about five minutes before he would forget the whole thing. Instead of explaining, Louis poured another glass of water, pulled on his best poker face and strolled back into the dining room, where Harry and Liam were discussing golf like old men. Louis, without a word, placed the cup down beside the two previous cups of water and took a step back, examining Liam’s reaction.

It took him a moment, at first he remained bewildered, probably thought Louis was insane, but then it clicked. A slow smile spread across his face.

“Oh, for fucks sake.” It was weird hearing Liam swear, like when you saw a child smoking. It just didn't feel right.

“I can get you some more? I found this thing in the kitchen called a tap and when you twist it-”

“Am I missing something here?” Harry’s deep voice enquired. Liam pointed to Louis.

“He’s being a little shit.”

“Hey, I resent that.” He brought his hands up to his hips and turned to deny everything to Harry, but was surprised to find the boy frowning and flipping his scowl between the two boys, not sure who to focus his annoyance on. Clearly, he didn’t know what was going on here and for some reason he really didn’t like it.

"I'll resent you in a minute." 

"Is that a promise?"

Liam huffed. “I bet you were the one behind that bloody prank.” Obviously, Louis thought, but no words left his mouth. Harry was staring him down and it was burning through his skin, making his insides feel like a washing machine on the highest setting. The glare was so sharp and piercing Louis felt like he needed to cover his body in band-aids. Had he done something wrong? He must have done something wrong.

“What prank?” Harry asked and Louis picked up two of the glasses to distract himself while Liam explained the stupid prank, that sounded so immature and childish now. As he mentioned wet socks and a wet carpet, Harry leant back in his chair and pushed his plate away from him. Standing awkwardly at the end of the table, Louis wasn’t too sure what to do except tap his fingers against the glasses he held. Was Harry done with his meal even though half of the pizza was left and the soup had barely been touched? What the hell was going on?

“Yeah okay-” Harry interrupted Liam mid-sentence. “I’m going to bed.”

Louis watched in disbelief as Harry rudely stood up and marched out of the room, not offering him a single glance let alone a ‘good night’ or even a ‘good bye’. Searching his brain for answers Louis thought that maybe he was annoyed at the prank, or maybe he was disappointed that his two new employees were fooling around on the job. Surely that wasn’t it though, Harry seemed like a laid back, fun-loving guy and it was only a bit of spilt water, nothing serious. Louis hadn't even pissed in one of the cups, Liam had got off lightly in his eyes.  Louis was relieved to see the prankee looking just as confused.

“Maybe he isn’t feeling well?” Louis proposed but only to break the uncomfortable silence Harry had left behind, trapped it in the room by closing the door as he left. He had been perfectly peachy earlier, during Love Actually, so it couldn't have been that.

“Who knows with that boy.” Liam muttered, shrugging before starting his last slice of pizza. Louis made his way back to the kitchen to hug Zayn.

“Can you ask if they want dessert?” Niall pulled a chocolate cake out of the fridge and placed it down on the counter for all three boys to gawk at.

Louis slowly brushed his index finger over a small portion of the cake, collecting some icing before bringing it up to his mouth, eyes closed as his taste buds danced. “Actually, its just Liam out there now.”

“Where’d Harry go?” Zayn hit Louis’s hand away when he reached down to do it a second time. Louis shrugged, pouting.

“To bed, I think.” Zayn escorted the cake out to Liam before Louis could poke at it anymore, while Niall begun to clean up the kitchen with Eleanor. The counter was digging into his back so Louis decided this was a good time to bring in Harry’s leftovers and start to clear the table, maybe then he would be let off slightly early and head straight to bed to bury himself under his covers like a depressed badger. 

Opening the dining room door, he found Zayn carefully cutting a generous slice of cake. One day, in the distant future, this moment would be used against him in hilarious ways, but for now Louis would act like a fly on the wall, no interruptions were allowed.

“Thank you, Zayn.” Liam’s voice was gentle and soft like cotton wool, Louis hated touching that stuff.  “You should grab a slice too, I won’t be able to eat this all on my own.” Louis rolled his eyes as he picked the abandoned plates up, maybe he could accidently trip and fling the cake in either of their faces. 

“Can I?’ Zayn’s brown eyes were wide. Louis wanted to kick him, only lightly of course, just enough to bring him back to normal.

“Sure, take a seat.” Louis was incredibly close to rolling his eyes again, but his eyelids were feeling heavier now and it would take too much effot. As Zayn sat down in the chair beside Liam, he exited the room making a vomit-like noise. God, this was tedious.

Niall had already opened the dishwasher; stacks of plates and cutlery sat on the top and Louis skillfully knocked his shin against the edge of the door, still balancing the plates in his hands. Unable to dance away the sharp pain that tickled up his bone, Louis instead opted for a long, frustrated groan.

“You alright mate?” The Irishman called from the other side of the kitchen.

“Fan-fucking-tastic.” Niall sniggered and continued to wipe down a worktop covered in flour. “In-fucking-credible.” Louis whispered to himself, and he could pretend to be angry with the dishwasher, but deep down he knew his bad mood was thanks to the curly haired boy who was currently jerking off in the shower, not that Louis was aware of that.

Unfortunately there was one last cup in the dining room he had to collect, which meant he would have to further witness Zayn and Liam’s blossoming friendship or relationship or whatever the hell was happening between those two. He wasn’t let down as he crept back into the room.

“You know what? I like your hair un-styled, you should have it like this more often.” Liam was pointing to Zayn’s soft fringe, which fell over his eyebrows slightly. Louis didn’t miss the blush that colored his cheeks and he would find this situation endearing if he weren’t so jealous. His fringe looked good too, why was no one complimenting it?

Finishing the tricky task of loading the dishwasher correctly, Jessica emerged beside him, holding a notepad and ballpoint pen.

“Hey Louis, is that everything?” Louis nodded. “Great, thanks. You can return back to the guesthouse now, but about tomorrow morning-“ He froze. “Harry asked me to tell you that you don’t need to take his breakfast up to him.”

“Is there a problem?” Genuine concern spilled out of his mouth.

“No, no problem, I think he’s just planning on going out early tomorrow or something along those lines. Just make your way up there at about midday-ish and make sure the room is clean, then we’ll see what time he gets back and go from there, okay?” She was smiling so Louis took this as a sign he hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Yeah, okay. Goodnight Jessica.” He bowed and regretted it immediately.

“Goodnight Louis.”

He counted four moths on the way back.

\--- 

Rolling over for the eighth time Louis supposed maybe now he should force himself to get up. It was 11am; usually he could sleep in until after midday, but here he was, staring up at ceiling, eyes stinging but remaining wide. Zayn’s bed was empty next to him, the alarm clock had been pushed onto the floor and Louis was proud that the boy had managed to wake himself up single-handedly, without Louis having to slap him multiple times.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall his dream, only remembering butterflies.

It took him 35 minutes to get up, have a quick shower, tug on his uniform and grab something to eat. By then he was eager to walk outside and feel the sun touch at his skin, he was still holding his half finished cup of Yorkshire tea and sipping at it he made his way into the manor, fingertips drumming on the porcelain. After ditching the now empty cup in the kitchen as he had passed it by, he strolled into the entrance hall and looked at the clock hanging high on the wall. It was 11:46, pretty much midday. Harry had undoubtedly gone out already and there was no chance of bumping into him, no chance of finding him in his bedroom. Was that relief or disappointment Louis felt?

The room was unoccupied, no surprise, but it was expertly trashed, big surprise. A motionless Louis stood in the doorway, observing the chaos in disbelief. The bed had been overturned; clothes buried the floor almost entirely and most of the furniture had been tipped over, spilling objects around the room.

“What a dick.” Louis sneered. He was certain Harry was responsible. There was no way someone would have broken in just to trash this particular room and no one else in the manor had any reason to do this when they were too busy with their own duties. Jessica’s words echoed over and over in his head ‘...make your way up there at about midday and make sure the room is clean…’ and he sighed in defeat.

He had been cleaning for approximately 20 minutes and was currently folding up the dozens of shirts thrown around the room when Zayn had knocked on the door and entered.

“Whoa, what did you do?” Was the first thing he asked and honestly Louis was offended that Zayn was so quick to assume he was the culprit.

“Nothing, I found it like this.” The room was already much tidier now, but it still looked like the aftermath of a wild party or a small tornado.

“Mate, that sucks.” Zayn picked up a cushion and tossed it back onto the bed.

Louis exhaled, “Sure does. What have you been up to?”

“Helped out in the kitchen for a bit, Liam is out with Harry so I’m not really doing anything right now, thought I’d try and track you down.” Zayn stepped into the room, careful to avoid tripping over, and sat down on the floor next to Louis.

“Where’d they go?”

“Golfing apparently.” Zayn snorted.

“You and Liam seem to get along.” Louis sounded bitter.

“Meaning?”

“Nothing, just…” Louis looked up to Zayn and saw the boy he had known since he was 11; the boy who had at first been so quiet that Louis thought he was unable to talk. The boy, who at 16, had given in to Louis’s pleads and snuck out in the middle of night, only to walk aimlessly through the streets discussing trivial things like what aliens looked like and who would win in a fight between Batman and Spiderman. The boy who had grown up alongside him; the boy he could always rely on to laugh at his stupid jokes. ”You two are cute.” He smiled honestly and Zayn shrugged.

“So are you and Harry.” Louis scoffed in surprise.

“Don’t be silly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jealousy is a terrible thing


	10. Under a Heavy Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~ Louis POV ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> updates miiiiight be a little slow atm because i'm currently moving to london! yayyy!! i'm super nervous!!!

Two hour passed by before Harry and Liam made their return, one frowning and one grinning. In one of those hours Zayn had explained to Louis what had happened the evening before, at the swimming pool. Louis was prepared to be the worried/angry friend who would tell Liam off for acting so carelessly, before Zayn had reminded him he had done the exact same thing when he was 14, only it had been in a lake instead, which had thankfully turned out to be shallow.

The two just so happened to be in the entrance hall (they had been playing hide and seek for part of the other hour) when the front door swung open, making them jump in surprise. Liam strode in, singing the words ‘Biggie Biggie Biggie can't you see, sometimes your words just hypnotize me’ proudly. Louis could hear Zayn whispering ‘and I just love your flashy ways’ next to him.

Harry was a complete different story, stumbling behind Liam, tripping slightly on the welcome mat in total silence. Louis wanted to kiss him.

“How was golf?” Zayn asked cheerfully. Liam and Harry had clearly not noticed the two boys standing to the side of the room, at the bottom of the stairs, because both of their heads jolted up in confusion. Louis’s breath hitched in his throat when Harry’s eyes found him.

“Bloody brilliant.” Liam smiled and kicked off his shoes. Harry only shrugged. He had seemed so enthusiastic about golfing yesterday and now he looked depressed. “But right now I am famished.” Liam beckoned Zayn to follow him into the kitchen, leaving Louis and Harry standing metres away from each other but feeling miles apart. Harry had kicked off his shoes and was leaning against the door, arms crossed over his chest, his eyes darting around the room.

“So… err…” Louis didn't know why he was attempting to start a conversation. “I guess Liam won?” He lifted his eyebrows anxiously, trying to coax words out of the boy’s mouth, anything would do. He was still pissed off over the mess Harry had made in his room but he could always get revenge another time, right now he just wanted to hear the boy speak. Harry had scowled at Liam’s name.

“Fuck off Louis.” It was muttered, but to Louis it could easily have been a yell. These were definitely not the words he had been hoping for. These words felt like thorns in his ears and now his heart ached. Louis stood in silence, wondering whether he meant it and if he really should ‘fuck off’ and run to the kitchen to hide under a counter.

“Are you hungry?” Louis had decided to ignore what Harry had just said, clearly he was in a bad mood but Louis still had a job to do. “I can get something for you to eat, if you want?”

“No, just go away.” Harry was walking towards him now, dull eyes on the stairs behind, he turned to Louis and spoke slowly. ‘Listen to me. I order you to leave me alone. I don’t need you for anything, so go annoy Liam instead.” The silence that followed was so uncomfortable Louis thought he was going to vomit. He was only trying to be nice, what the hell was wrong with that boy? Harry had disappeared up the stairs, down the hallway and into his bedroom, probably locking the door behind him. Louis hoped the sight of his room, beautifully organized and clean, filled the boy with guilt and regret.

Liam was tucking into a sandwich and Zayn and Niall were in mid conversation when Louis wondered into the kitchen, like a lost puppy.

“You up for a game of tennis?” Liam asked and surely he wasn’t talking to Louis? Why would he be asking him that? The two boys hardly spoke. “I’ll play against you and Zayn, yeah?” Too stunned to think, Louis absentmindedly nodded his head and the next thing he knew, Liam was leading the way as Zayn dragged him out of the kitchen, whispering into his ear.

“We have got to beat him, okay? So many questions and all Louis could do was nod. “You okay? You’re awfully quiet.” Louis nodded again. Niall was calling out ‘good luck!’ from behind them and suddenly Jessica appeared, holding four tennis rackets and a tube of tennis balls.

“Where’s Styles? I thought he was going to join you guys?” She looked around as if he were hiding from her.

“Nope, it’s just us three.” Liam confirmed and she was left holding a spare racket as they made their way out to the back garden, towards the hardcourt, located beside the pool. Zayn and Liam were describing to each other how they were going to win and while they both made a show of stretching the muscles in their arms and legs, Louis slumped against the chain link fence. The sun was so, so bright and he squinted at the sky, admiring the spotless blue, not a cloud in sight. It really was beautiful in the garden and the past few days they had been blessed with outstanding weather.

“Louis! Wake up!” Zayn was waving his racket in the air above his head and Liam was bouncing a tennis ball on his. “You stand on that side and I'll stand here.” He motioned for Louis to take the left half.

“Are you guys ready to lose?” Liam called, grabbing the ball mid air and getting into a position ready to serve. Louis wasn’t ready to do anything.

“No, are you?” Zayn was pretty good when it came to fighting talk; usually Louis was the one with the snarky comebacks. Liam only scoffed and hit the ball over to them, starting the game. The ball came straight towards Louis, which he thought was so damn typical, and he swung his racket and surprisingly managed to hit it back. Wow, he had been expecting it smash straight into his face with the luck he seemed to have today.

They kept the game up for an impressive time before Louis and Zayn ran into each other, both trying to hit the ball before it bounced out of the line It was that moment, as Louis bounced off of his friend and landed on his bottom, when he realized he had actually been trying. He wanted to win and he was having fun. Shame the uniform he was wearing was so restricting and seemed to absorb all of the heat the sun offered.

Liam was in stitches on the other side of the court, he had buckled over, hands on his knees, body shaking as he laughed. Zayn, who was somehow back up on his feet already, took this moment to grab the rolling ball and swing it at him. It was a perfect hit and the ball bounced off the top of Liam’s head with a thump. Louis was impressed to say the least.

“Nicely done, Malik!” He pulled himself up to give his friend a fist bump. Liam only laughed harder. “I don’t mean to make excuses but it’s really unfair playing in these uniforms, when you’re wearing that.” Louis used his racket to point at Liam, who wore light shorts and a white top. “This shirt is impossible to move in, I feel like I’m in a straightjacket.”

“Alright, alright. How about we continue this tomorrow and you both wear something more suitable? Then you two can lose fairly.” Liam wiggled his eyebrows. This had unexpectedly been fun and Liam seemed cool even when he had been poking fun at Louis earlier, for missing the ball. He could definitely do this again tomorrow.

In the end, they played tennis three days straight. Their afternoons were pretty much tennis-filled, stopping only when it got too dark to actually see the ball. They would switch positions, Louis against Zayn and Liam or Liam and Louis against Zayn.

Swinging the racket against the ball helped with his frustration, helped get out some of the anger that threatened to fill him up. He much prefered to hear the whack of the ball against the cement floor over the echoing words in his head, reminding him what Harry had said some days earlier. It was gratifying to see the ball spiralling through the air like a spinning top, even if it did end up over the fence and lost forever in a bush. They had got through a whole tube of tennis balls so far, many had disappeared from Earth completely, mainly thanks to Louis. Maybe he was an expect at scaring things away.

But overall, it was fun and it was distracting.

Distracting from the curly haired rich kid that Louis still served breakfast, lunch and dinner to. Whose room he cleaned and whose clothes he put away. Who he made polite small talk with, but never anything more. They had been managing well so far, greeting each other as they passed by in the hallways, Louis pulling on a false smile that would twitch and ache. On one occasion Louis had accidently said 'good morning' when it was the middle of the afternoon and he had spent the rest of the day cursing himself for being the very opposite of smooth.

He would occupy himself with chores and tasks, helping out Zayn and Niall whenever he could. One day he found himself watering the plants around the manor and he laughed when his back burned from hunching over the pots countless times, because this was an old lady problem and not a Louis problem.

The routine broke on the forth day. The sun stubborn in the sky the days before was now shyer and hid behind angry, grey clouds. Louis had been free from work for an hour already and had decided to wait at the courts for Zayn and Liam. The cold air had forced him to put on a purple sweater and he rubbed his arms to keep them warm. The chain link fence pressed into his back and the cement floor was cold on his bum despite the fact he wore sweatpants today. Having no idea where Zayn and Liam were, what they were up to or how long they were going to take, Louis closed his eyes and rolled his head back. A little bit of cold weather wouldn’t stop them from their game; he would daydream until they showed up.

But, of course, he didn’t daydream and only ended up thinking about Harry, Harry, Harry. He wondered what the boy was doing right now. He wondered what he did all those times they played tennis, when he would vanish in his car to someplace else. Where did he go? Was he meeting someone? He thought about how Liam would casually rest his hand on Zayn’s shoulder and what it would feel like if Harry did that to him. He thought about Harry’s lips and wondered what his tongue would taste like.

A cloud burst in the sky and the rain that fell was unforgiving, but the droplets didn’t immediately wake Louis. The night before had been restless and now that he had dropped off to sleep, the rain would have to try a little harder to wake him. His head had rolled forwards, making the water trail down his cheekbones and drip off of his nose and lips. Small streams rolled down his neck and tickled along his back. The water had seeped into his dreams but taken the form of ocean waves gently breaking against rocks on the sand. When the thunder roared through the sky, Louis blinked his eyes open to find his vision blurred, similar to when you’ve been crying for an extended amount of time, (not that Louis would know… alright, so he was weak against romantic movies). He cursed a few times when he realized how drenched his clothes were already and then he rubbed his eyes with his wet palms.

“What the hell are you doing out here?” His head jolted upwards to see who was asking him, to his surprise it wasn’t Zayn coming to his rescue but in fact Harry Styles. He stood about a metre away and the white shirt he wore was soaked against his skin.

“Thought I’d take a shower.” Louis smirked but only for a second.

“You idiot. You’re going to catch a cold.”

“Don’t pretend to care.” Harry sighed.

“Maybe I don’t want you sneezing and coughing all over the place for the next week.” Of course, Louis thought, that was it. “Or maybe I don’t want to see you ill.” Harry shrugged. “Who knows?”

“Did you need me for something?” The rain was louder now meaning Louis had to raise his voice.

“Just come inside.” Harry stepped closer.

“No. I like it out here.” That was a lie. The rain was nice to listen to, but not so nice to sit in. He had planned to make his way in but now that Harry was the one telling him to do so he was going to put it off for a little while longer, until his toes and fingers grew numb.

“Stop it Lou.” Lou? Did he just call him Lou? Only Zayn called him that and since when was he using nicknames? “Come on, get up.” Harry’s hair was dripping wet over his eyes and he pushed it to the side carelessly. “Hey! Louis! Don’t go back to sleep!” Louis had only closed his eyes to piss him off. There was a groan before hands reached out and clutched under Louis’s armpits, tugging him up from the floor with little effort.

“Alright, alright, let me go.” Louis quickly pushed Harry’s hands away because it was just too weird feeling them on him, his warm grip such a contrast to the cold rain surrounding him. Harry clasped his two hands together in front of him, as if to show they were now detained and no longer a threat.

“You’re completely soaked.” Harry stated the obvious and Louis nodded mockingly.

“Well, it is raining Harry.” Was he being too rude?

“Come on.” Harry turned away and began towards the tennis court exit and Louis followed, the water in his shoes squelching under his heels with each step.

Rain turned to hail and suddenly the two boys were running towards the manor, hands above their eyebrows in an attempt to shield their eyes. The hailstones were small but still made a great impact and Louis could hear them crunch beneath him, sounding just like the rice krispies he spilt on the floor that morning. Harry was surprisingly fast, his long legs taking large strides, but Louis was athletic and found it easy to keep up.

Eventually they reached the manor and Louis clung onto the doorframe as he entered, careful not to slip on the marble flooring. He wiped his face down with his shaking hands and pulled them away dripping.

“That got painful very quickly.” The words slipped out of Louis’s mouth.

“Yeah, I think I swallowed one.”

“How was it?”

“Delicious.” Harry nodded and patted his tummy. Louis smiled and shivered. “We need to get out of these wet clothes.” All the clothes Louis had with him, including his uniform, were back at the guesthouse. To grab them meant going back outside into the hail shower, something incredibly unappealing now that he had been reminded what warmth was thanks to the radiators around him. Harry had noticed his troubled expression. “I’ll lend you some of my clothes, saves you from going back out there.”

“You sure?” Louis didn’t want to appear needy but he was pretty certain he stood covered in goose bumps.

“Of course.” Wet shoes and socks were tugged off before Harry beckoned Louis to follow him across the entrance hall, up the stairs and into his room. Neither mentioned the mess that had filled it days before or how Louis had spent his time clearing it up, and only Louis seemed to be conscious of the footstep puddles the two left behind them as they walked. “Any particular requests? A certain colour you don’t wear?” Harry questioned over his shoulder while he walked into the wardrobe.

“As long as it’s dry I don’t mind what you give me.” A grey shirt and a pair of black jeans with tears on the knees were tossed in his direction.

“Wait, let me get some towels too.” Dashing out of the wardrobe and into the bathroom, Harry found two, both extra large. “You can get changed in there if you want.” Harry pointed back at the bathroom.

“Yeah, okay.” One warm towel was pushed into his hands and Louis burrowed his fingers into it, causing a shudder to ride down his spine. “Harry… thanks.” It was a little awkward but entirely honest.

“Don’t mention it.” Louis grabbed the clothes, slid into the bathroom, closed the door behind him and slumped against it. This was all a bit surreal.


	11. On Your Knees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oh my goddddd this is so late and i'm so sorry ahhhhh but please enjoy!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (also i'm fully moved into london now how crazy is that)

It was weird being in Harry’s bathroom and at first all Louis could focus on was the white fluffy rug underneath his bare feet while it tickled in between his toes, building up an itch. The towel was still warm and hugging it close to his chest, he carefully observed his surroundings, picking out small details like the pink toothbrush looking rather lonely in a cup to the side of the sink shelf and also the rubber duck that sat in the middle of the shower floor, staring back at him with wide eyes. He was just about to start peeling his wet clothes off when suddenly there were three quick knocks at the door followed by his name. “Louis?”

“Yeah?”

“Sorry, but could I come in?” Taking a deep breath Louis turned to face the door.

“Of course.” It was gently pushed open and slowly Harry’s head appeared around the edge, a gentle smile on his lips.

“Hi.”

“Hey.” Harry walked in, head down, and pushed the door shut behind him. This was okay, the bathroom was pretty big and Louis thankfully hadn't started to undress yet. He could handle this situation.

“So, Louis, I, err... I just wanted to say that-.” He coughed into his fist and Louis watched him suspiciously, watched the boy’s eyes flick around the room. He had an ignorable feeling something pretty major was about to happen. “I wanted to say sorry for like, being a twat to you, and well, I feel really stupid.” A sigh. “Really, really stupid.”

“Oh, okay.” Honestly, it was all Louis could think to say.

“I just got- I know it’s stupid, but I got jealous because you and Liam were like, messing around and getting along well and yeah, Liam’s my best mate but there was this incident between us awhile back and it just kind of reminded me of it. I know now I was just being paranoid and that you weren’t using me to get to him or whatever and you’re actually a nice guy and truthfully, I miss talking with you even though we’ve only known each other for a short while, and I hated being so out of order to you because you didn’t deserve it at all” Harry’s eyes were now staring directly into Louis’s and he felt like if he broke the connection he would collapse or fall over.

“Oh.” Usually Louis was pretty good at conversations but with Harry it was a whole different story.

“And I’m sorry for making that mess the other day. Honestly I did it because I liked the idea of you being in my room, even if it was only to clean my shit up. It’s selfish, I know. I’m sorry.” That was his fourth apology not that Louis had kept count.

“Why would you like the idea of that?” He had a feeling he knew the answer, by the look in Harry’s eyes, but he wanted to hear him say it, he wanted it to be made crystal clear.

“Well, because I think that I like you.”

“You think?”

“No, I mean I know. I know that I like you.” He was blushing, both cheeks deliciously rosy and Louis wanted to lick them.

“How do you know that?”

“Because for the past few days I’ve been thinking about you nonstop.” Now it was Louis’s turn to blush. The idea of Harry thinking about him was making his tummy turn, but in a good way. Typical Louis-style, his mind turned straight to dirty thoughts and a flash of an image of Harry stroking himself and moaning Louis’s name appeared in his thoughts, making his tummy turn even more and blood was rushing down, down to his dick and great, now he was going to get a hard-on without Harry even touching him. “Louis? Say something.” Oh yeah, he hadn’t responded yet.

“I don’t know what to say Harry.”

“Tell me you’ve been thinking about me too, and not just about different ways to kill me or whatever.” If he did tell him that, he wouldn't be lying. Harry had pretty much taken over his brain too, one minute he would think about punching him in the face and the next he would think about scattering love bites across his collarbones.

“I’ve been thinking about you nonstop too and I hate you for it.” Harry half smiled.

“I’m sorry-“

“Shut up.”

“Louis-“

“Kiss me.” Crap. He had only meant to think that and not actually say that out loud. Before he could even begin to formulate a way to casually play that off as a simple joke, because Louis was just such a comedian, Harry was in his face and on his lips. It took him a second to realize just what was happening here and when it finally sank in he couldn’t do much else but kiss back, almost aggressively. Eyes tight shut; they both willingly lost themselves in each other’s mouths. Harry had pushed his tongue forward, wanting so desperately to taste Louis, to discover how sweet he was and he wasn’t disappointed. He was the sweetest candy.

It was only when Harry pulled his hands away from the sides of Louis’s face and down to stroke his arms when he was reminded that they both were still wearing their wet clothes.

“Wait, let’s take these off.” They didn’t waste a second, tugging at each others sleeves and zips, pulling shirts over their heads and tugging jeans to the ground until they both stood in their underwear, panting, eyes wide, faces damp. “Incredible.” Harry whispered and Louis smiled because wow, he was thinking the exact same thing about him. Who knew that the boy who looked amazing in a simple white shirt and black skinny jeans looked a million times better in a pair of wet boxers that were not doing anything to help hide his half-hard cock. Who knew? Louis knew. Louis knew all too well and the shuddery breath that slipped past his lips as his eyes danced over Harry’s body revealed exactly how he felt. Harry was grinning.

“Please, Harry.” Where the hell had that come from?

“Please what?” Louis clenched his fists and watched as Harry took two steps back.

“Where are you going?” Louis didn’t care that he was starting to sound desperate.

Harry blinked slowly. “Come to me.” Louis didn’t move a muscle as he had unfortunately turned to ice. “Louis, come to me.” They must have been magical words, maybe some sort of spell that only Harry knew, because Louis’s legs were now working again and he was walking towards the boy who’s hand was reaching out, beckoning him closer. Louis melted into Harry’s arms and pushed his chin up so Harry could easily plant a kiss on his lips while his eager fingers brushed over his body, leaving behind goose bumps on his skin. “Louis can I…” Harry looked down towards Louis’s crotch and bit his bottom lip.

“Please.” There was that damn word again, clearly being incredibly horny made Louis unusually polite.

“I want you so badly Louis.” Harry breathed out as he dropped to his knees in one swift movement. His hair was already a mess of curls and Louis twisted his hand into it, grabbing a fist fall and casually Harry to moan and drop his head back slightly and wow, Harry being this submissive was definitely the hottest thing Louis had ever seen in his entire life and he had been watching gay porn from the age of thirteen, but this was on a whole new level of sexy.

“Fuck, Harry.” The wet boxers needed to go away forever right now and Harry’s lips were so pink and puffy and so, so inviting and Louis already knew his mouth was the closest thing to heaven and that this was all a dream because how could something this amazing be happening right now.

Harry was peeling down Louis’s boxers with hungry eyes now and when Louis’s cock emerged, damp and so unbelievably sensitive Harry took a deep breath and licked his lips.

“Louis I- I want you to fuck my mouth.” And just like that the whole situation got a million times better and Louis wanted to shove his dick down his throat and fuck away but he liked Harry too much to do that, even if he was asking for it. He wasn’t going to do that, not yet at least. Harry traced his fingers up Louis’s thighs and slipped his hand around his cock, starting with slow, teasing strokes and when his finger brushed over the tip a shudder ran up Louis’s spine. Without hesitation Harry wrapped his lips around his cock and pushed his face forward, pushed his way to the base and Louis watched in awe as the boys nose bumped against his skin and even though he gagged slightly and his eyes were beginning to water, he didn’t move away. Louis was gripping onto Harry’s hair like it was the only thing keeping him steady and the moment Harry’s eyes flicked up and into Louis’s, the moment a single tear fell and trickled towards the lips that were cushioned against Louis’s flushed skin, he decided holding back was the lame thing to do and so instead, he pulled half out slowly before pushing all the way back, hitting the back of Harry’s throat and creating a delicious mix of a noise, between a moan and a gag.

‘Fucking hell Harry, are you sure-“ Before Louis could even finish the question Harry was nodding his head up and down, making the dick in his mouth bounce against his tongue as well as vibrate when he hummed a noise of confirmation. Totally unfair, Louis thought, as he watched Harry’s hands disappear behind his back, clasping together and surrendering himself into even more of a submissive position. Now he could see how hard Harry had gotten through his boxers and he reveled in the fact that Harry had opted against rubbing one out while he sucked Louis off and had instead decided to torture himself by ignoring his dick completely, focusing purely on the one in his mouth. 

Louis swiftly pulled out and thrust forward without warning and Harry’s eyes slammed shut, forcing all of his concentration on not gagging or coughing, or pulling away. God, he looked so pretty right now, Louis could almost cry because just the other day he was imagining this scenario and it was so much better in real life, not that he thought he would ever have the chance to find out, and yet here he was with his dick down Harry’s throat. He hadn’t thought about how much Harry would dribble as it dragged in and out of his lips and he hadn’t thought about the times when Harry would swallow and his throat would clamp shut. Louis hadn’t thought about the way Harry’s eyelashes would flutter and how he would struggle to keep his eyes open as they grew blurry with tears, struggle to keep hold of the eye contact between them even though all he wanted to do was look into Louis’s eyes forever and ever.

Louis rocked into his mouth over and over, building up his release quickly as Harry dug his nails into his hands behind his back. The boy’s throat would be sore after this and his jaw would ache but Louis liked that idea, he liked how Harry would be reminded of this moment every time he opened his mouth or swallowed something.

He was so close now and he was about to pull out when Harry started to push his head back and forth, obviously wanting to take control over the last part, wanting to push Louis over the edge and swallow him up as he came apart in his mouth and onto his tongue. Lips smacked against his skin and slid up and down, leaving a mess of saliva behind, building up a rhythm that matched Louis’s heartbeat. Soon he was moaning Harry’s name over and over and gripping, tugging onto his hair tightly, muttering a chorus of ‘fuck’ and ‘yes’ and when Harry matched his whimpers, drowning his cock in moans, Louis couldn’t hold on any longer, this was all too much, so he let go.

“Harry- I’m gonna-“ He let go and came into his mouth with a sob, pulling his hands away from Harry’s hair and onto his shoulders, where he dug his nails into his skin, holding on as he pushed forwards a few more times into the receiving mouth that hung open still. Louis watched as Harry gulped down his release like it was the greatest present he had ever received. Who the hell was this kid?

“Jesus, Harry.” Louis dragged a hand over his face and then through his hair. His legs were still weak and he felt like he could fall over at any given moment, so he decided to pull himself away from Harry’s mouth completely and collapse down into a kneeling position with a satisfied huff. Now he was staring directly at the raw lips of a boy that looked incredibly fucked out, a boy who wore this cute little smile and had dribble on his chin. A boy who had an aching hard-on between his legs, standing abandoned and untouched.

Louis would definitely help him with that.


	12. Revel in the View

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> totally not posting this at 1:50am, no way haha, oops

Harry lifted his head up and grinned before using his tongue to push the cum he had been holding in his mouth out through his teeth, letting it slide over his lips and down his chin, down his neck and down his torso. He giggled when Louis’s mouth dropped open.

“Harry that’s disgusting.” Louis was half-lying, because yes, it was kind of gross but it was also really hot seeing him like this, looking so wrecked and messy.

“Hey, you’re the one that put it there.” Harry mumbled, throat rougher and deeper than usual and as he spoke the remaining cum seeped out of his mouth slowly. He licked his lips. Louis wanted to jump his bones. 

“No, I put it in your mouth and you pushed it out.” Harry grinned up at Louis.

“Well, it tastes funny.” 

“What can I say? I’m a funny guy.”

“You’re a sexy guy.” Louis snorted because Harry was an idiot.

“Real smooth, Styles.” Trust Harry to actually look proud despite the heavy sarcasm in Louis’s voice. “Mate, that looks painful.” He pointed to Harry’s erection that was fighting against the fabric of his boxers.

“Yeah it is.”

“Okay, well I think I can help you with that.”

“You can?”

“Yeah I can punch it and it will go away.” 

Harry gasped. “Is there no other way?”

“Wait, actually, let me try something….” Reaching his hand out he pressed it against Harry’s crotch, squelching the wet fabric against his skin and finding out first-hand (quite literally) how big Harry really was. A sharp intake of breath revealed the boy’s sensitivity and Louis could tell that this wouldn’t take long at all. He wanted to blow him, he wanted to do everything possible with harry, even some of the weird kinky stuff he only saw in porn, he wanted to do all of that, but right now he just wanted to see if he could make Harry cum in his pants. 

“Fuck, Louis… I think you- I think you’re helping.” Breathless and high, Harry pushed up into his palm and rubbed against it, trying to coax Louis into creating more friction, to put his hands down his underwear, to do something, anything. 

“Are you sure?” Teasing him was so much fun when all Harry could do in response was moan and whimper. Louis watched him nod pitifully; truthfully it was hardly a nod and more like Harry just dropping his head down with a sigh before he placed his forehead on Louis’s left shoulder, breath hot against his skin. 

The bathroom seemed so much bigger now that they were both comfortably curled up together, Louis’s hands grabbing at Harry’s junk. His fingers worked through the boxers, rubbing up and down at what he could grasp as the boy opposite him bit his lips red.

Louis wished he could record the noises Harry kept making and use them as wank material for future references, or even just listen to them in replacement of his usual music because honestly, this was miles better than any song ever created, including anything by biggie and tupac. Rolling his head back after an exceptionally generous stroke he noticed that despite his open eyes, Harry looked totally out if it, like he was in another world altogether, a world filled with pleasure and Louis and small hands and wet underwear and goose bumps. Harry pushed forward and Louis pushed back, the two of them working together like they were destined to do this. 

Ignoring the impressive collection of tattoos Harry's skin was far too bare for Louis, especially around his neck, so he pressed his lips on the space just above one of his collarbones and hummed in content. The taste of salty sweat greeted his tongue as he licked at the area before biting into the skin hard enough to leave a gorgeous love bite behind.

Pulling his lips away he could sense the desperation for release getting heavier and heavier, so he held his open mouth just slightly above Harry’s and the two of them swallowed each other’s moans. 

“I’m close, Lou, just ah, just keep-“ Louis brought their mouths together and that seemed to do the trick because only a second later Harry was thrusting up and cumming in his boxers. It took a minute or two for the both of them to see normal again.

Louis scoffed, “I can’t believe you just came in your pants.” Sure, that was the plan all along and Louis was more than satisfied, but seeing the fresh wet patch on his underwear was very amusing. 

“Once again that was your fault, Lou.” 

“You’ve really got to learn to take responsibility, Harry.”

“It feels so weird.”

“Yeah I bet it does, maybe you should take those off.” Harry echoed Louis’s smirk and reached down to slip them off when a shout from the other room made them both jump and then sit extremely still with their breath held and their eyes wide. 

“Harry?” The voice called again and Louis knew it was Liam, standing in Harry’s room somewhere trying to locate the boy that sat opposite him. Harry couldn’t go out there because his hair was a mess and his cheeks were flushed and his lips were sore and, well, there was jizz all over his chin. “Harry, you in there?” A knock on the bathroom door and thank god Harry had shut it earlier or Liam could have walked in on a very embarrassing situation. 

“Er… yeah, Liam, what’s up mate?” His voice was rough like sandpaper, which Louis thought was incredibly sexy.

“Oh, hi, well apparently dinner is about to be served so you might want to make your way downstairs.”

“Okay, yeah, cool, just give me a minute.” If they were lucky Liam might think Harry was just constipated and not in a post-orgasm state. 

“Yeah sure, oh and you haven’t seen Tomlinson anywhere have you? Zayn’s been looking for him” There was actual concern in his voice causing Louis to giggle, Harry clapped his hand over his mouth before coughing to try and cover it up. 

“No, sorry mate, haven't seen him” Louis bit into one of Harry’s fingers. “Ow! Hey!”

“You alright in there?” Liam sounded even more concerned now, poor boy.

“Yeah, yeah, just fine.” Harry looked at Louis in a way that said ‘be good or regret it later’ and usually Louis would take this as a challenge but the sneaking around aspect was already too much fun, so he surrounded to Harry’s warning and kept very, very quiet. 

“Okay, well, I'll be downstairs.” 

“Cool, yeah, I’ll meet you down there.” They waited for 30 seconds or so until they absolutely knew the coast was clear and Liam had exited his room before they both collapsed into each other, chuckling and sniggering like two idiots. 

“Do you think he has any suspicions?” Louis asked as he wiped at Harry’s chin.

“Probably. He won’t say anything though, out of fear he’s got it wrong or whatever” 

“What would you have done if he had found us?”

“Carried on, why?”

“Just wondering.” Louis liked that answer because now he knew Harry wasn’t ashamed about having sexual relations with an employee, and also because imaging Liam walking in mid blowjob was pretty funny. 

“We should probably get dressed.” Pushing himself off the floor, Harry held out his hand to help pull Louis up, and once he was standing again he looked in the mirror to his right and gasped because apparently Harry wasn’t the only one looking truly and utterly fucked out. 

“Oh shit.” 

“You look good.”

“I look fucked.” Harry chuckled and led the way out of the bathroom, slowly peeking around the door just to double check no one was waiting on the other side before strolling out. Louis decided to leave his wet clothes behind and just saunter out completely naked like a proud nudist. Thankfully, Harry owned some clothes that looked pretty much identical to the uniform and after Louis had finished laughing over the fact Harry dressed like his own servants, he slipped the clothes on and wandered out of he room, giving Harry a wink and a wave as he closed the door behind him. 

As soon as it clicked shut he was back in work mode and already coming up with an excuse for Zayn. Jumping down the stairs and into the entrance hall, his shoes, still slightly wet, squeaked against the floor and just before he could push the door to the kitchen open, Zayn did it first and appeared before him, frustrated.

“Where the fuck have you been?”

“Hi Zayn.”

“Hello Louis. Where the fuck have you been?”

“Long story.”

“Yeah I’m sure.”

“I fell asleep in the rain and I had to change my clothes.”

“Not quite a long story Lou, and how the hell did you fall asleep in the rain?”

“I was waiting for you and Liam. You know, for tennis?” Guilt ran over Zayn’s face.

“Oh yeah, sorry about that, we-I, I was busy.” Louis rolled his eyes.

“Of course you were. It’s okay mate. I forgive you. Clearly you had more important things to do.” Zayn shook his head, laughing nervously, and turned away into the kitchen. It looked like both of the boys had their secrets.


End file.
